BEIJING, May 20 -- The trade consultations between China and the United States in Washington D.C. are in line with the interests of not only both countries, but the whole world, analysts said.
Calling the visit to the United States "positive, pragmatic, constructive and productive," Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, special envoy of President Xi Jinping, said Saturday that both sides have agreed not to launch a trade war and to stop slapping tariffs against each other - the most remarkable fruits from the consultations.
The two countries issued a joint statement on Saturday on the trade consultations, saying both sides have agreed to take effective measures to substantially decrease the U.S. trade deficit in goods with China, meaningfully increase U.S. agriculture and energy exports, and strengthen cooperation on intellectual property protection, among others.
Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, led the Chinese delegation and arrived in Washington D.C. on Tuesday for the consultations at the invitation of the U.S. government.
The fundamental reason behind the positive outcomes is "the needs of the two peoples and the whole world," Liu said in an interview.
"Apparently, joint efforts of both nations...successfully avoided a lose-lose result," said Zhang Yuyan, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The just-concluded consultations followed the visit by a U.S. delegation to China earlier this month, during which "candid, efficient, and constructive" talks were held between the two sides.
Two rounds of consultations in such a short period of time showed huge sincerity from both countries, said Li Yong from China Association of International Trade.
"Negotiation will always bring about lower costs and greater benefits than confrontation," Li said.
Experts said the agreements are beneficial to both countries and the world economy.
Increasing imports from the United States will allow China to better meet its people's aspirations to live a better life, push forward high-quality development, and consolidate the bilateral trade partnership, said Wang Yong, professor at Peking University.
More purchases of U.S. goods and services will also help support growth and employment in the United States, the joint statement read.
However, it will take time to resolve the structural problems in the bilateral economic and trade ties.
The healthy development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations is in line with the historical trend, and the two countries should properly handle potential differences through dialogue and treat them calmly in the future, Liu said.
Both sides agreed to maintain high-level contact and seek to resolve their economic and trade concerns in a proactive manner.
Song Guoyou, professor at Fudan University, said maintaining sound bilateral relations at high levels and promoting consultations will "carry great realistic importance" for the healthy development of bilateral economic and trade ties.
"As two important countries in the world, China and the United States have the obligation to maintain the structure of international economic governance," said Zhong Wei, researcher at Beijing Normal University.
Closer and mutually beneficial trade ties will "surely bring more growth opportunities for both countries and the world at large," Zhong added.