China's opposition to the added tariffs has a rational basis, said trade experts at a seminar on Sunday.

Dong Yan, director of the international trade office at the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China has already poured efforts into structural reform and opening-up, but it wasn't something that could be solved through one single negotiation.

"We have emphasized that (the US) should not use the tariff method. It is not just for China's benefit – it is the rational choice any country will make facing unreasonable requests in trade," she said.

"The key concern during the Sino-US negotiation was structural reform," she said. "… during the progress the US put forward demands – some are reasonable, and some need to be further discussed. In the meantime, China's structural reform requires long progress, but it is not a single event. One negotiation can't make all the problems go away."

"We believe China and the US still have large potential for cooperation, and the important thing right now is to discuss many specific issues based on mutual trust," she added.