A new round of high-level economic and trade consultations between China and the US concluded on October 11 in Washington. Information released by both sides suggests that substantial progress has been achieved. The two sides agreed to continue meeting each other halfway and working together toward a final agreement.

It is believed that only by removing all tariff increases, ending the trade war, taking constructive actions to balance trade and seeking the greatest ground of common interests, can economic and trade issues be finally resolved.

Over the past year, Sino-US economic and trade frictions have continued and the consultation process has been bumpy. It is obvious to all that China's position on safeguarding the core interests of the country and the fundamental interests of the people is unshakable. It is absolutely impossible for China to make a deal on any issue of principle, and arbitrary pressure on China will not solve any problem.

It is the shared responsibility of China and the US to resolve the economic and trade issues and make a new round of consultations a meaningful start. There are no winners in a trade war, and both parties must not fall into a lose-lose trap.

Provoking and escalating economic and trade frictions will not help reduce the trade deficits; instead, the negative impact will be extensive and beyond imagination.

The manufacturing, services and consumption of the US have all been negatively impacted by the trade war. American people have raised a lot of complaints and American entrepreneurs have submitted thousands of letters to the government so that they could be exempted from additional tariffs.

The US side claimed that it would like to reach a trade agreement with China, which must be of benefit to the US. But it is worth reminding that without the premise of mutual benefit, there can be no real takeaways for the United States.

Clearly, the US should calculate how much of a backlash it will have while cracking down on China. According to the latest Global Competitiveness Report released by the World Economic Forum, the United States has fallen from the top to the second place.

Almost all professional analysts believe that the decline of the United States' ranking is mainly due to the rising economic and trade frictions between China and the United States.

The US trade deficits in goods and services increased 1.6 percent in August from the previous month, according to US Department of Commerce data. Moreover, a survey released earlier this month by the Institute for Supply Management showed a sharp decline in the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in September, the lowest since June 2009.

These facts are enough to show that the US cannot remain strong at all by violating the principles of virtue, suppressing other countries and shifting domestic tensions to foreign countries.

In contrast to the market performance in the US, a number of consumption data eyed by China’s just-concluded National Day holiday hit a new record high.

During the seven-day holiday, national retail and catering enterprises achieved sales of 1.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 8.5%; domestic tourism revenue was 649.7 billion yuan, up 8.5% year on year; National Day box office revenue was about 4.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 120.9%.

The world witnesses that China has devoted itself to running its own business. The pressure brought about by Sino-US economic and trade frictions has been consistently digested domestically.

China always embraces the world with an open mind and is willing to develop cooperative and win-win relations with other countries with sincerity and by practical actions. That is why the country is willing to continue to move in the direction of resolving Sino-US economic and trade frictions.

Of course, the outcome still depends on whether the US can meet China halfway and create necessary and sufficient conditions for continuous progress in the consultation. There are differences everywhere; however, differences should be properly managed based on equality and mutual respect.

The world expects to see China and the US move closer toward each other on the way of solving their economic and trade frictions. The headlines of western mainstream media have proven this.

As the world economy continues to grow at a low rate and various vulnerabilities and uncertainties are mounting, the world needs China and the US to cooperate with each other to inject positive energy into the world economy and usher in opportunities for a brighter future.