China-US phase-one trade deal encouraging achievement: former US diplomat

NEW YORK -- The phase-one economic and trade agreement announced by China and the United States is an achievement that can encourage both sides to accomplish further goals, a former US diplomat has said.

China and the United States have agreed on the text of a phase-one economic and trade agreement based on the principle of equality and mutual respect, and reached consensus that the US side will fulfill its commitments to phase out its additional tariffs on Chinese products, according to a statement by the Chinese side late Friday.

"This achievement" is conducive to "further accomplishments," Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation and former US ambassador to Cambodia, told Xinhua in an email interview on Saturday.

"In my diplomatic experience, success often begets further success," said Quinn, who has a 32-year career as a US diplomat.

"Once they have successfully concluded part of an agreement, negotiators are often encouraged to work harder to find ways to put in place the terms for a second or third part," he said.

Quinn said he was "extremely pleased" to see the news about the phase-one trade deal, and believed the move should help boost the overall China-US relationship.

The veteran diplomat, who made his first trip to China in 1979 and has traveled there frequently since then, said he hopes that both sides would build on the progress to resolve the trade disputes.

"It will contribute in an important way to ensuring the stability of the overall global trading system," he said.

China and the United States have agreed to complete their necessary procedures including legal review, translation and proofreading as soon as possible, and discuss the detailed arrangements for the official signing of the agreement.

"Maximum good will is needed" in order to accomplish further goals, as it might not be easy to get through the remaining issues, Quinn noted.

He also suggested the two sides propose certain events that could promote both official and informal relationship between the two countries and the two peoples.