[binews.com] DIAO Daming: China and the US will Suspend Imposing Additional Tariffs and Work Together in the Same Direction for Win-win Outcomes

On December 1, 2018 (local time), Chinese President Xi Jinping was invited to meet with the US President Donald Trump in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During the meeting, the two sides held positive and constructive discussions on economic and trade issues, and reached a consensus to stop escalating tariff measures and other trade restrictions, to proceed immediately to address mutual concerns, and to deepen negotiation and come to an agreement on abolishing additional tariffs imposed this year, in great efforts to bring bilateral economic and trade ties back on the right track as soon as possible.

The meeting lasted for two and a half hours, much longer than expected. The in-depth exchange and candid dialogue between the two Presidents highlight the key strategic leading role of head-of-state diplomacy in developing stable bilateral relations.

As the first meeting between Xi and Trump since US unilaterally provoked trade frictions, this meeting has attracted wide attention from all over the world, and is expected to play a proactive role in easing trade tensions. The consensuses and achievements made in the meeting not only conform to the overall interests of steady and sound development of bilateral relations, but also meet the general expectations of the entire international community.

As a “pivot” and “keynote” event in the G20 Summit Argentina, the successful and fruitful meeting between the two Presidents demonstrated the two countries’ confidence in and resolution on fueling development and prosperity of the world economy, and highlighted their sense of responsibility as big powers.

As is known to all, since the start of trade war in March this year, China has always been pursuing reasonable solutions through equal-footed dialogue and consultation on the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. While opening the door for dialogue with the US, China will always try its best to defend fair and orderly international trading system and rules.

Many steps of China, including holding the first China International Import Expo to continuously release the signal of increasing the import, and relaxing control over market access for foreign investment to improve investment environment, have provided investors and suppliers around the world with more opportunities. At this moment, the dialogue and consultation between China and the US on trade issues is turning back to the right track, which is a progress of working in the same direction as the idea.

Just as President Xi Jinping pointed out that “there is no true winner in any war, cold, hot or trade”. China and the US are the two largest economies in the world, so their trade frictions will inevitably make wider influences. For example, the IMF has recently lowered its expected growth rate of the world economy for current and next years to 3.7% from 3.9% in April this year. The suspension of imposing additional tariffs means that the economic and trade relations between the two countries will get warm again after a cold spell, bringing an expectancy favorable for global economic growth.

For China, seeking common development through exchange is inherently in line with its demand for high-quality development. Going through the reform and opening-up over the past 40 years, China’s economy is transforming to a stage of high-quality development, which will have a bearing on the world’s prosperity and stability. In the meeting between Chinese President and the US President during the G20 Summit, China further demonstrated its resolution on and confidence in continuous reform and opening-up, and, once again, released its invitation for mutual benefit, win-win outcomes, common development, shared prosperity and jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind to all countries around the world in the 21st century.

For the US, going back to the right way of dialogue and consultation works for the most extensive interests of itself, for continuous and healthy development of China-US relations, and for global economic stability and prosperity.

“Economies make progress through exchange and inter-connectivity”. Demands of both parties are complicated and intertwined, but China and the US can expand cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit and manage disputes through mutual respect, so as to jointly promote China-US relation centering on the keynote of coordination, cooperation and stability. It is foreseeable that streamlining the trade relations between them along the main logic of cooperation and win-win outcomes will finally drive China-US economic and trade cooperation to go further on the road and make the two peoples benefited thereby.

（The author is the research fellow of NADS and associate professor of the School of International Relations.）