China says substantial progress has been made in the high-level economic and trade talks between China and the United States, and the joint statement between the two sides was released today. The statement that "both sides have unanimously agreed to establish a China US economic and trade consultation mechanism, clarify the leaders of both sides, and carry out further consultations on economic and trade issues of their respective concerns" seems to be a good thing, as we discussed the three-step process of China US negotiations a few days ago, which has moved from the first step of "breaking the ice" to the second step of "establishing a normalized communication mechanism and further consultations".