Following months of stagnation of trade talks between China and US, the two countries held a new round of negotiations in the economic hub Shanghai, the first time negotiators met outside their capital cities.

(File Photo: VCG)

China again manifested its courage and utmost sincerity by reaching new deals with US firms on increasing purchases of agricultural goods in the days before the meeting.

Many experts assumed that the trading hub was chosen for talks to signal that the trade dispute is a trade matter not a political one. The city, 47 years ago, witnessed China and US issuing the landmark Shanghai Communiqué in the hope of normalizing bilateral ties.

Yet the White House turned a blind eye to China's goodwill gesture and repeated its unfair and unreasonable claims including "China has lost 5 million jobs” due to the US tariffs, attempting in vain to place pressure on China and grab more advantages during the talks.

The US seems to have gotten amnesia and has abandoned the principles of equality and mutual-respect, which it once pledged were the basis for negotiation, Chinese flagship newspaper the People's Daily said on Wednesday.

China can and will withstand the pressure and is determined to safeguard the interests of the country and people, said the People's Daily. 

The Global Times echoed the sentiments in a Wednesday editorial, saying, ”The US tactic of carrot-and-stick with Beijing at such crucial and sensitive times has never worked.” It said the Trump tactic of "maximum pressure" has been "abused before and its effect is declining.”

China has the confidence not to make "unconditional concessions" thanks to its stable and full-steam-ahead economy, it argued. The US needs to rebuild a positive image as being credible and reasonable.

Xinhua news agency stated that if Washington still holds the illusion that Beijing will somehow cave in and compromise on issues concerning sovereignty and related core interests to reach a deal, then no deal can be reached.

The restart in Shanghai serves as an opportunity for US negotiators to abandon old-fashioned conception of China and act with more sincerity. 

The two sides, described in the Shanghai Communiqué, should face bilateral differences together and deal with their common interests toward more healthy bilateral relations.