Rationality, objectivity and pragmatism win the day in Geneva to benefit of all

A press briefing is held by the Chinese side following the China-US high-level meeting on economic and trade affairs in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 11, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

The positive responses from around the world to the "substantial" progress China and the United States have made in easing their strained economic relations speak volumes of the profound global significance of the healthy development of relations between the world's two largest economies.

According to the joint statement released by the two sides on Monday, after the meeting between their respective trade delegations in Geneva over the weekend, the two countries recognize the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship, and share the belief that continued discussions have the potential to address the economic and trade concerns of each other.

As long as they can implement their agreement to continue to advance related work with the spirit of mutual openness, continuous communication, cooperation and mutual respect, there is no reason why they cannot effectively put their economic and trade relations back on the right track, and in doing so set a good example for the world of how to resolve trade disputes and differences through dialogue and negotiation in good faith.

The lead of the Chinese delegation, Vice-Premier He Lifeng, said that the talks in Geneva were "candid, in-depth and constructive". His US counterpart, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, described them as "productive and constructive". That indicates that not only were the two sides on the same page after their discussions but there is a foundation and positive momentum for the further engagement they have agreed to, with the two sides due to establish an economic and trade consultation mechanism to continue their discussions.

As the joint statement shows, the meeting, which achieved substantial progress in significantly reducing tariff levels in the trade between the two countries, has proved to be more fruitful and promising than initially anticipated.

It is important now for the two sides to seize the opportunity of the important consensus reached and the new mechanism for economic and trade consultations to further bridge their differences.

As the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement, the moves related to the joint statement are in line with the expectations of producers and consumers on both sides, and in the interests of both countries and the common interests of the world.

The economic and trade teams of both sides still have a lot of work to do in the future. They need to restore bilateral trade first and then move on to broader issues. But China hopes that the US will build on what has been achieved at the Geneva meeting and continue to work with it to strengthen their mutually beneficial cooperation, maintain the healthy, stable and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations, and jointly inject more certainty and stability into the world economy.

Both sides should work to expand the pie of cooperation, and promote new development opportunities for Sino-US economic and trade relations. China and the US have great room for cooperation in manufacturing, emerging technologies and other fields. But whether the potential of Sino-US cooperation in these sectors can be unleashed depends on how the US views the cooperation, China's development, and the nature of bilateral collaboration.

China's resolute stance since the US launched a tariff war against it in 2018 should leave the US administration in no doubt that the country will not sacrifice its principled position or international fairness and justice to seek an agreement.

The results of the Geneva meeting were hard-won and are beneficial to both China and the US as well as the global economy. Its outcomes show that both sides now better understand each other's concerns. So they should cherish the progress that has been made so far and enrich their future talks by continuing to conduct them on an equal footing and with mutual respect.