The deal on the prices for Chinese exports of solar panels that China and the European Union reached over the weekend is welcome as an "amicable solution" to the biggest trade dispute yet between them.

Better still, it sets a cooperative tone for joint efforts to resolve a series of disputes on other products at a time when slow global growth would make a full-scale trade war all too costly.

However, while applauding such pragmatic endeavors to avoid unnecessary trade tensions, it is important to put in perspective the significance of the agreement in view of the development of both sides' low-carbon economies.