China has shown sincerity, but what about the U.S.?

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As the world watches the Washington-Beijing trade brawl, China released a white paper titled "China's Position on Some Issues Concerning China-U.S. Economic and Trade Relations" on Wednesday.

Again, the white paper emphasizes that no one wins in a trade war. Since U.S. President Donald Trump set trade barriers during his first term in office in 2018, China has shown utmost sincerity in fixing disputes with concrete actions, and this resulted in the Beijing-Washington phase-one economic and trade agreement in 2020.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and other uncertainties, China has kept its promises in carrying out the trade deal.

To provide a favorable business environment for foreign enterprises, China has been gradually easing investment restrictions. For instance, the country rolled out a plan in February this year to remove all restrictions on market access for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector and to broaden the list of sectors encouraging foreign investment.

Under the plan, foreign firms receive widened financing options, enhanced intellectual property protection, and equal treatment with their Chinese counterparts in government procurement. By introducing these policies, China, in stark contrast to certain countries that have been intensifying investment restrictions, is fulfilling its promise of creating an accessible environment for foreign investors looking to enter the Chinese market.

China's efforts have been increasingly recognized by foreign firms. In 2024 alone, China saw the establishment of 59,080 new foreign-invested firms, marking a year-on-year increase of 9.9 percent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

"Apple is keen to seize the opportunities presented by China's opening-up and will continue to increase its investment in the country, thus contributing to the high-quality development of the industrial and supply chains," Apple CEO Tim Cook was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

Intellectual property (IP) is another issue of attention in the phase-one agreement.

In March this year, the Chinese government unveiled a set of regulations on resolving foreign-related IP disputes. Consisting of 18 articles, the regulations specify that relevant government departments should enhance overseas IP information inquiry and warning services. The regulations also clarify that the service of documents should be carried out in accordance with the international treaties to which China is a party.

So far, there are 75 national IP protection centers across 29 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China. Shanghai, for instance, has been committed to providing equal IP protection for international innovators in an attempt to foster a fair business environment, enhancing online monitoring of IP violations and supporting patent pre-examination.

In addition, China has strengthened collaborative efforts with U.S. intellectual property authorities in areas like IP reviews, expert exchanges, and public awareness through tools such as collaborative work plans and memorandum of understanding. In interactions with American companies, China has maintained an open and proactive approach, carefully listening to their feedback on its IP system and coordinating closely to resolve their legitimate IP concerns in China.

Trump started the tariff fight to address America's trade imbalance. China's commitment to the phase-one deal has, to some extent, expanded imports from the United States. While China's overall imports of goods denominated in U.S. dollars decreased by 0.6 percent in 2020, its imports from the U.S. rose by 10.1 percent. In 2021, China's imports of goods from the U.S. surged by 31.9 percent, surpassing the overall import growth of 30 percent, according to the white paper.

As a responsible country, China has scrupulously fulfilled its obligations in the phase-one deal. But regrettably, the U.S. has systematically escalated economic and other forms of pressure against China, implementing a series of restrictive measures that repudiate the spirit of the deal. During his second term in office, Trump has again resorted to pressure, threats and blackmail, which are causing tremendous harm to Beijing-Washington ties and disrupting normal trade activities.

For instance, Washington agreed in the phase-one deal to complete its regulatory notice process for the import of poultry, citrus, jujube, fragrant pear, and other agricultural products from China. However, it did not take reciprocal tariff exclusion measures for the agricultural products involved in the deal. Worse still, Washington in 2025 announced to levy an additional 20 percent tariff on all Chinese products to be exported to the U.S., then a 34 percent "reciprocal tariff," and the threat of an additional 50 percent tariff.

Just as the white paper stresses that "trade wars produce no winners, and protectionism leads up a blind alley," the relationship between the world's two largest economies is mutually beneficial and win-win in nature. To resolve differences, equal-footed dialogues are essential. Returning to the negotiating table, rather than coercion, is the only way out.

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