Editorial | Working groups help thaw China relations with US and Europe
- Recent moves raise hopes of greater cooperation and dialogue, and less confrontation and tit-for-tat measures that do nothing to resolve disputes
It could help global recovery from the pandemic slowdown if China and the West properly manage obstacles in their trade and economic ties. Some encouraging signs have emerged in trade talks between Chinese officials and their American and European counterparts, with working groups set up to handle contentious issues.
As a result, it is to be hoped there is greater cooperation and dialogue, and less confrontation and tit-for-tat measures that do nothing to resolve disputes.
China and the United States have set up joint working groups on finance and the economy after months of talks on easing trade tensions. This goes some way towards restoring a mechanism for regular communication between the two sides known as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, abandoned after 11 years in 2017 by former president Donald Trump under a misaligned trade policy that damaged multilateralism.
The two new working groups are the result of consensus between vice-premier He Lifeng, who is leading trade talks with Washington, and US Treasury chief Janet Yellen, who met He in Beijing in July. The groups may not yet be compared with the dialogue discontinued in 2017, but they do lay the basis for reviving constructive communication.
Moreover, sources say, the two sides have resumed talks in several areas and are working on opening dialogues on arms control and artificial intelligence.
