Editor's note: This article is an edited translation from a Chinese article originally published on the official WeChat account of Drunktrt. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On the morning of August 25th, Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Vice Premier of the State Council and the chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, held a phone conversation with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The two sides agreed to create conditions to continue pushing forward the implementation of the phase one trade deal.

The parties also discussed the significant increases in purchases of U.S. products by China as well as future actions needed to implement the agreement. Both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement.

It has been more than three months since the last phone conversation took place on May 8.

According to people familiar with the phone talks, both parties were very engaging and courteous during the talks and the exchange of opinions over topics such as agriculture and finance went on well.

Since the normalization of diplomatic ties, China-U.S. relations have never been so complex and grim in prospect. The phone talks between the two parties have released the following signals.

Firstly, China and the United States are still committed to carrying out the phase one economic and trade agreement. During the call, according to their statements, the two sides talked about strengthening bilateral coordination of macroeconomic policies and the implementation of the China-U.S. phase-one economic and trade agreement, and especially "agreed to create conditions and atmosphere" to continue pushing forward the implementation of the trade deal. 

This is a very clear and well-targeted signal. Given the impact of the pandemic and the strained China-U.S. relations, opinions vary about the implementation of the phase one economic and trade agreement. However, the phone talks reveal that China and the U.S. have a clear consensus on ensuring the implementation of the agreement.

This is particularly true on China's part. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has dealt a heavy blow to the global economy while also bringing uncertainties to the implementation of the trade agreement. But despite extreme difficulties, China is still keeping to its promises in fulfilling the agreement. In this year's government work report, emphasis was placed on the need to "work with the United States to implement the phase one China-US economic and trade agreement," showing China's commitment to walking the talk in regard to the agreement.

However, it's also worth noting that by saying "create conditions and atmosphere," the parties were suggesting that there is still room for improvement in this area. The pandemic has brought some hiccups to the implementation of the agreement, but the biggest challenge in implementing the agreement is probably not the virus. On the one hand, the agreement represents the commitments from both sides and need to be fulfilled by both China and the United States, rather than by one country alone. If one party ignores this point intentionally or unintentionally, it is not conducive to the implementation of the agreement.

On the other hand, it's an economic and trade agreement, so it needs not and should not be linked to other matters. Currently, some people in the U.S. have intentionally or unintentionally linked the China-U.S. phase one economic and trade agreement with other matters to serve their election interests. This is unwise, and it will not lead to good results.

Secondly, the economic and trade relations remain the ballast for China-U.S. relations. Since the normalization of China-U.S. diplomatic ties, economic and trade relations have always been cited as the "ballast" and "propeller" of China-U.S. relations. Since the U.S. provoked the economic and trade frictions with China in 2018, the bilateral economic and trade relations have been set back seriously. Some people start to doubt if the "ballast" is still there.

Notwithstanding the setbacks, over the past half a year since the signing of the phase one agreement, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has been relatively stable amid rising tensions between China and the United States. Some point out that China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is key to ensuring normal China-U.S. relations, avoiding the derail of China-U.S. relations and prevent either party from crossing the red line. 

Many foreign media reports echoed this point. According to the New York Times, as China shakes off the coronavirus, its purchase of American products appear to be ticking up. Data from China's General Administration of Customs shows that the country's imports from the United States were up 15.1 percent in June year on year, when calculated in China's currency, the Renminbi, compared to a 5.2 percent increase in China's exports to the United States.

Agricultural imports from the United States have been especially strong this summer, with two of the three largest Chinese purchases ever of American grain occurring in July, including a record-setting purchase of corn made by China. "The U.S. trade war with China strained relations between the world's largest economies. Now, the trade pact the two countries signed in January appears to be the most durable part of the U.S.-China relationship."

"The phase one deal has become this shiny spot in a diminishing relationship," said Kelly Ann Shaw, a former Trump White House trade official.

Bloomberg reported on the August 24 that the coronavirus crisis and the deterioration in U.S.-China relations on everything from tech security to Hong Kong has left trade a rare area of cooperation.

Thirdly, in the face of extremely complex situations, China should keep strategic patience. Since the trade war began two years ago, China has been unfazed by the U.S. offensives and handled very complex situations in a calm and rational manner. The position it initially upheld remains unchanged. In the face of extremely complex situations today, it is imperative for China to keep strategic patience.

This requires calm and thorough analysis of the situation and weighing the pros and cons. The key is to focus on running China's own affairs well.

In light of the lengthy China-U.S. economic and trade negotiations, the signing of the phase one agreement only marks the end of the first round of the competition, and is merely one step towards solving the problem. There is more to come as China-U.S. relations develop over the long term. To deal with maximum pressure from outside, China needs to demonstrate the courage and ability to fight back, while relying on wisdom and patience to prevail in the strategic rivalry.

The most important thing is to focus on running our own affairs well. In the face of external pressure, China can either respond with confrontation or with more inward-looking development. The two approaches will lead to completely different results.

In a nutshell, the future of China-U.S. relations will always be a work-in-progress that involves everyone. 

China-U.S. relations are now facing an unprecedented situation. The two sides have huge common interests and close ties, but there are also many differences. Especially on the issue of development, there is a clear difference between China and the United States: China believes that a win-win situation can be achieved, while the U.S. feels China's gain will inevitably come at the expense of its loss. 

At the end of the day, all these differences can be boiled down to the question of what kind of world order to pursue: multilateralism or unilateralism? The China-U.S. trade war and the various ongoing differences emerged and evolved under this background. To resolve differences, China and the U.S. need to have a deeper understanding of each other's strengths and intentions, and develop a better way of getting along in this new paradigm.

But the problem now is that neither has China seen such a situation, nor has the U.S. ever seen such a situation in its 200-plus years of history. This is an uncharted territory where both China and the U.S. face completely new issues.

There is yet no answer to how China and the U.S. find new ways of getting along, and what the new ways are. 

The only thing sure to happen is that you reap what you sow. Will the two countries fall into the trap of confrontation and repeat the tragedy in history? Or will they go down the path of cooperation and create a brand-new history? The future of China-US relations is not set in stone; it depends on what we do about it.

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