The fourth round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) opened here Thursday, with the two global players expected to boost their strategic mutual trust, which has been running low for some time.

The current trust gap between Beijing and Washington stems from continual trade disputes and, more importantly, the lack of concrete action on the U.S. side to prove that its strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific region poses no threat to China.

As a case in point, recent months have seen Washington moving to forge a closer military relationship with Manila through military assistance, warship sales and joint drills.

The development comes at a time when the Philippines has been brazenly challenging China's sovereignty over Huangyan Island, an integral part of China's territory since ancient times.

Despite U.S. claims that it is not taking sides in the issue, its action speaks a louder truth: It is projecting visible influence, just as is desired by the Philippines.

To preserve and promote the hard-earned China-U.S. mutual trust, the United States needs to make more earnest efforts, instead of paying only lip service.

In regard to trade disputes, many sober minds have pointed out that the punitive duties the United States has repeatedly slapped on Chinese goods are harmful not only to Chinese industries but to the recovering U.S. economy.

It is in the interests of both sides that U.S. decision-makers sit down with their Chinese counterparts and negotiate a solution to their trade frictions, rather than simply resort to protectionist measures.

In mid-April, China widened the trading band of its currency against the U.S. dollar, a major step towards further increasing the flexibility of the yuan, which has been appreciating against the greenback since 2005.

With China committed to reforming the yuan's exchange rate regime, it is time that the United States discarded the ill-founded argument that its huge trade deficit with China is caused by the yuan's "artificially low" exchange rate.

In addition, the United States needs to play its due part in rebalancing bilateral trade by, among other things, removing the trade barriers against China.

As the paramount dialogue platform between the two heavyweights, the S&ED gathers chiefs of more than 20 government agencies on both sides and offers a precious chance for China and the United States to bridge their trust gap.

Although differences between the two countries are by no means negligible, one truth overrides them all: Their shared interests are expanding amid globalization and their relations have gone beyond the bilateral scope and now bear global significance.

So it is desirable that the United States join China in making genuine efforts to increase mutual understanding and consolidate mutual trust so as to achieve a win-win situation that benefits both themselves and the world at large.