Expert stresses mutual trust in Sino-US ties

Call for countries to settle differences and work together on global challenges

China and the United States should restore mutual trust by reopening consulates that have been closed and work together on global challenges, abandon a zero-sum trade mindset and engage more robustly, says Stephen Roach, former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia.

To do so will offer a way out of an escalating conflict between the two countries because misunderstandings are fueling false narratives that will exacerbate tensions, said Roach, a senior fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center of Yale Law School.

"In the last five years alone we have gone from a trade war to a tech war, which is increasing daily to the early stages of a new Cold War," Roach said. "So the urgency to address this conflict has never been greater."