Mutual respect the foundation for navigating China-US trade talks: China Daily editorial

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The continuous introduction of unjustified tariff measures by the United States has brought great uncertainty and instability to the world. By fabricating so-called reciprocal tariffs out of thin air, it has taken a wrecking ball to the trade relations it already had under the framework of the World Trade Organization and has sought to do a demolition job on the existing global industry and supply chains. In doing so, it has conjured up a storm of chaos in both the markets and within the US, which has created further spillover effects negatively impacting economies worldwide.

In the face of the US administration's reckless attacks on trade, China has taken decisive countermeasures, not only to safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests, but also to safeguard the WTO rules that are the foundation of the global trade system. It is committed to defending the international economic and trade rules, fairness and justice, including for US businesses and consumers, in the face of the US administration's wrong practices.

It is natural for WTO members to have economic and trade differences, but solutions to their respective concerns should be found through consultations on the basis of mutual respect and equality. Which is why Beijing accepted the US' administration's invitation to engage in talks.

It has made it clear that it views the meeting in Geneva on the weekend, between a delegation led by Vice-Premier He Lifeng and a US one led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as being a prelude to establish how sincere the US is about negotiating a mutually acceptable trade deal rather than a meeting to haggle over tariff rates.

Beijing remains open to dialogue with strategic patience, but the talks should not be a pretext for continued coercion or extortion, and it will firmly reject any proposal that compromises its core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity.

No matter how arduous the road ahead, China will continue to safeguard its development interests and defend the WTO rules and the multilateral trading system.

China knows clearly that submitting to the US' blackjacked blackmail would only invite more extortion; that appeasement will not bring peace, and compromise will not earn respect in return.

It will therefore continue to demonstrate its determination and willingness to fight, if fight it must, for its own good and that of the world. And it stands ready to work with the international community to enhance solidarity and coordination.

If a negotiated solution is truly what the US wants, it should stop threatening and exerting pressure, and talk with China to that end on the basis of equality and respect.

Given the zero-sum game mentality that prevails in the US policymaking circle and the fixation of the current US administration on recreating some mythical "golden past", the possibility is slim that the US will stop stirring the waters any time soon. So the trade aggression initiated by the US may be just the opening salvo of a "protracted war". But China's core interests are not tradable, and it is prepared for that.

The Chinese economy has repeatedly shown that it is highly resilient under pressure, and Beijing has a full toolbox to defend the country's legitimate rights and interests. No external shocks can change China's economic fundamentals, nor the Chinese economy's resilience and potential.

The profits of China's industrial enterprises, for example, rose 0.8 percent to 1.5 trillion yuan ($207.26 billion) in the first quarter year-on-year, in line with other indicators that point to the increasing recovery momentum of the world's second-largest economy.

In contrast, the US administration will find it is increasingly pressured by the piling up of national debt, which is like a ticking time bomb. Time is not on the US' side, it is already finding it difficult to pay the interest payments on more than $36 trillion.

China is willing to work with the US, to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation. But the US administration must back up the conciliatory remarks it has been making with constructive and concrete actions.

The unilateral practices of the US have no place in today's world where all countries should be striving for a shared future of friendship and prosperity. It is the US that is responsible for the trade war. It is therefore its responsibility to create the conditions for moving forward. It is on this basis that the US can escape from the predicament in which it has put itself.