Dialogue and cooperation key to keeping Sino-US relationship on the right course: China Daily editorial

The talks on the phone between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump on Thursday undoubtedly came at a critical juncture amid a strained relationship between the world's top two economies.

Although China and the United States reached a 90-day agreement through an economic and trade dialogue in Geneva on May 12 to try and bring down tariffs amid a trade war launched by the US administration, tensions have remained high since then as the latter has not ceased to take restrictive measures in tech, trade and people-to-people exchanges against China.

That explains why the two leaders mainly focused their first talks since Trump's inauguration on trade-related issues, apart from the Taiwan question, in order to try and press ahead with the process of resolving their economic and trade issues through dialogue and consultation, which, as Xi said, is widely welcomed by all sectors of the two countries and the international community, as dialogue and cooperation are the only correct choice.

The "very good phone call", as Trump described it in a Truth Social post, should serve to provide the US leader with firsthand knowledge of China's commitment to continuing to make good use of the established economic and trade consultation mechanism to resolve their differences, and to upholding an equal attitude, respecting each other's concerns and striving for win-win results in the process.

The talks with Xi should have left the US leader with no room for any doubt about China's sincerity and its determination to uphold its principled stance in abiding by agreements. The resolute countermeasures China has taken to safeguard its core interests in response to the US' coercive practices, be they in the tariff war or on the Taiwan question, should also drive home a similar message to the US that China's word is its bond.

The US, which is in a better position than any other party to know China has seriously implemented the agreement the two sides reached at the Geneva meeting, should look at the progress made in a realistic way, and withdraw the series of negative measures it has taken against China in order to avoid rendering all previous efforts in vain, as it is well aware China will by no means sit idly by and see its legitimate rights and interests trampled on.

If Trump really means what he said in the phone call about the importance of bilateral relations and cooperation, the US' one-China policy, and the readiness of the US to work with China to implement the Geneva agreement, and if the US, as he said, is really happy to see that China's economy maintains strong growth, and welcomes Chinese students, his administration has no reason not to match its deeds with his words to meet China halfway in the direction of common development.

The ball is in the US' court, and the Trump administration knows what it should do. So it is imperative to keep the development of Sino-US relations on the right course, and especially important that the two sides should eliminate all kinds of interference or even sabotage in the process.

The cooperative and win-win nature of the Sino-US relationship proved by history leaves no space for zero-sum games. That Xi welcomed Trump to visit China again fully indicates that China remains committed to the healthy development of Sino-US relations.

To that end, as President Xi urged, the two sides should enhance exchanges in various fields such as diplomacy, economy and trade, military, and law enforcement, enhance consensus, reduce misunderstandings and strengthen cooperation, so that they can continuously expand their common interests and give more vitality, certainty and stability to the world.

It is good to see that the two heads of state agreed that the teams of both sides will continue to implement the Geneva consensus and hold a new round of talks as soon as possible. That is not only in the common interests of the two countries, but also aligns with the expectations of the world.

As major countries, China and the US are obliged to demonstrate the vision, courage and ability to fulfill their global responsibility to help resolve the common challenges faced by a world suffering from rising development, governance and trust deficits by replacing mutual suspicion and mutual harm with communication and cooperation.