Positive message of practical, concrete progress in trade talks: China Daily editorial

US President Donald Trump hailed the two-day talks between China and the United States as having made "tremendous progress" in the two sides' efforts to find a solution to their trade dispute.

The progress is tremendous not only because the two sides have candidly discussed a series of divisive issues, such as trade, technology transfer, intellectual property protection and agriculture, and reached some agreement, but because, more important, they have demonstrated that specific discussions to find ways to address their differences with some mutual give-and-take can be "fruitful", as the Chinese delegation described the talks.

Since the US initiated the ongoing dispute with China last year, it has imposed high tariffs on Chinese products — prompting tit-for-tat actions — and then repeatedly threatened harsher punishments. But such an unreasonable attitude and lack of respect for China's interests has harmed the US economy as well as China's, and threatened to inflict serious damage on the global supply chains that would take a long time to fix.

The positive message being sent by both sides after their current talks suggests the two sides have realized that the most productive way to seek progress in promoting their respective interests is through candid consultations rather than confrontation.

At his news conference on Thursday, after meeting with Vice-Premier Liu He, who headed the Chinese delegation, Trump said that a letter from President Xi Jinping — in which the Chinese president wrote that he hoped the two sides would continue to act in a spirit of mutual respect in order to reach an early agreement that works for the interests of both sides — had set the right tone for the talks and put them on a good footing.

It was always wishful thinking to expect two days of talks to deliver a deal, but clearly the negotiations have been going on for a while and will continue after a short break for Chinese Lunar New Year, so the undoubtedly upbeat message that a deal could be in the offing if all goes well seems to be based on a clear understanding of what needs to be done to get it across the line.

That the talks have produced a welcome consensus toward striking a comprehensive deal was confirmed by Liu, who said that it would ultimately be agreed when Xi and Trump meet.

That both sides have said that a deal will ultimately have to be hammered home by the two leaders — in one or two meetings according to Trump — suggests there are still some sticking points to be overcome.

But Trump was characteristically bullish, saying that "when President Xi and myself meet, every point will be agreed to".

But even the more cautious words of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who said it was impossible to predict success, gave grounds for optimism, as he said "we are in a place that, if things work, it could happen".

The situation is complex, not least because China is in a critical stage in transforming its development mode. But the country is determined to deepen its reform and opening-up, and some of the US demands for structural reforms are in line with the direction the Chinese leaders have mapped out. The question now is, can a mutually agreeable timeframe for those be agreed before the March 1 deadline suspending further tariffs on Chinese goods expires?

Having come this far toward meeting each other half-way, it would undo all the good work that has been done to build trust and make practical progress not to go the extra mile to clear the final hurdles.