In yet another example of the White House flip-flopping on tariffs, US President Donald Trump said on the weekend that the United States will not drop the hefty duties it has imposed on China without getting concessions from Beijing.

"I'm not going to drop 'em unless they give us something that's, you know, substantial," he told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Rome to attend the Pope's funeral, vaguely defining what he would consider "substantial" to achieve a deal as China opening its markets to US businesses and goods.

Yet with China unswervingly committed to opening-up at a higher-level and continually introducing concrete measures to this effect, his overture only adds to the knot of perplexing and often contradictory messages that his administration has got itself entangled in regarding the tariffs it has imposed on China. It also serves to highlight the degree to which it has become immersed in the medium as the message — a display of power for power's sake.

To help the US administration extricate itself from its messy messaging, China has underscored that no consultations or negotiations have taken place between the two nations concerning the tariffs, let alone any accord being reached, as a spokesman of the Chinese embassy in the US confirmed on Friday. Which has served to put the spotlight on the need for the White House to change its course. It should realize by now that any worthwhile outcome, never mind "substantial", requires it to abandon its coercive tactics. The bully-boy approach may work in the boardrooms of America, but it won't cut the ice with Beijing.

For any genuine resolution to the trade tensions between the two countries, dialogue and negotiation are the only option, and that requires the White House to rectify its approach. Claiming to want talks with China while simultaneously trying to exert maximum pressure is a flawed strategy that will not have the desired effect. The path to a harmonious agreement is a shared journey, not one in which one side tries to commit highway robbery. The US side needs to dispel the notion that the barrel of its tariff gun will elicit what it wants. Especially as the gun has a tendency to backfire every time it fires a warning shot.

The US side must recognize that coercion and diplomacy are incompatible bedfellows, and recalibrate its approach accordingly — to one that prioritizes cooperation over confrontation and dialogue over coercion.

The current tariff discord serves as a poignant reminder of the trust deficit that has become such a prominent feature of the times. Yet looked at from another perspective, the current altercation between Washington and Beijing, as well as its underlying causes, offers the opportunity for the two sides to engage in discussions to significantly reduce that deficit if the willingness is there.

It is time the US ceased its theatrics and worked with China for a meaningful readjustment of relations grounded in the principles of respect, cooperation, and dialogue. If the US administration keeps exerting maximum pressure on China on the one hand, while speaking of de-escalating tensions through negotiations on the other, it is not going to get anywhere.

If the US administration genuinely seeks to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it must correct its mistakes, abandon its coercive tactics, and remove all unilateral tariff measures against China, as the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US said.

The ongoing tariff war was forced upon China unilaterally by the US, thus China insists whoever caused the trouble should be the one that takes the initiative to end it. It would be unrealistic for the US to expect China to wave a white flag at the expense of its own interests. After all, what has happened over the past weeks has shown the country can and is ready to endure the US pressure.

For any meaningful interaction to happen, the US administration must cease its attempted coercion as a signal that it is willing to talk in good faith.