Navigating challenges in Sino-US trade ties

Head-of-state diplomacy has provided crucial guidance for the development of Sino-US relations. It was the telephone talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart on June 5 that enabled the two countries to keep their trade relations on the right track through their talks in London along with other efforts.

China has been faithfully implementing its part of the outcomes from the framework reached during the London talks. This has laid a foundation for their talks in Stockholm from Sunday to Wednesday.

Nonetheless, optimism should be tempered. After making initial progress in their negotiations in Geneva and London, the talks in the Swedish capital are likely to address some tough nuts. Not to mention the US has threatened to impose so-called "secondary sanctions" on economies trading with Russia citing the Ukraine crisis. The US also claims to have reached deals with some economies that reportedly contain China-targeted clauses, in an apparent bid to provide itself with more leverages in future trade talks with China.