THE much-anticipated meeting of the Presidents of China, Xi Jinping and the US, Donald Trump, was held in Busan, South Korea, during which the two leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest, showing China’s strong commitment to greater economic globalization, international cooperation and constructive competition.
The statement of President Xi to continue working with President Trump to build a solid foundation for bilateral ties and create a sound atmosphere for the development of both countries dominated the presidential proceedings. The message was thus loud and clear, projecting the strategic value of cooperation instead of confrontation.
Hence, as Xi emphasized, under their joint guidance, China-US relations have remained stable on the whole, vividly reflecting high levels of positivity, productivity and meaningful participation to resolve all pending issues pertaining to the economy, investment, global supply chains and, last but not least, ongoing trade and tariffs. The only way forward would be a sustainable partnership and friendship for the materialization of the desired goals of socio-economic integration and prosperity.
During his meeting, Xi covered all aspects of China–US relations and their strategic significance concerning their mutual economies, aiming for better understanding by avoiding friction. Thus, both countries should stay on the right course, navigate through the complex landscape and ensure the steady sailing of the giant ship of China–US relations. Additionally, Xi suggested several measures to mitigate prevailing global challenges by working jointly and sharing responsibilities as major powers, striving together to achieve greater and more concrete outcomes for the benefit of both nations and the wider world.
It is a good omen that their agreement on enhancing cooperation in economic, trade, energy and other fields and encouraging more people-to-people exchanges, would be the right step in the right direction. Moreover, maintaining interactions on a regular basis would be an ideal recipe for both countries. Trump looked forward to visiting China early next year and invited President Xi to visit the US. It seems that the leaders’ meeting plays an exceptional strategic role in stabilizing and nurturing the sustained development of bilateral relations, laying a constructive foundation for future stability of relations. It drew wide attention worldwide.
Trump’s labeling of Xi as distinguished, respected and a great leader of a great country showed a drastic change in his body language and statements, reflecting his deep respect for China’s leader, his acknowledgment of China’s remarkable achievements and his recognition of China’s global stature, underscoring the importance of bilateral relations. Obviously, the meeting went beyond a symbolic message and has been rated as significant because it tackled a range of both longstanding and newly emerged roadblocks in the trade relationship. During the meeting, the Chinese head of state, Xi, rightly projected his economy as vast, big, resilient and promising, having good momentum in economic development, which increased by 5.2 percent and import and export trade in goods during the first three quarters of this year with the rest of the world expanded by 4 percent. Therefore, he invited the US for greater economic cooperation instead of ongoing decoupling, delinking and unilateral sanctions because the Chinese economy can make America great again.
Furthermore, by highlighting the past seven decades’ development, dialogue and diplomacy, priorities clearly demonstrated China’s peaceful rise towards prosperity, productivity and peaceful resolution without any intention to challenge or supplant anyone. It has been standing tall for shared global prosperity, mutual respect and cooperation without any specific condition and working jointly for common goals. Xi called on the two teams to work out and finalize the follow-up steps as soon as possible and ensure that the common understandings are effectively upheld and implemented to inject confidence into the two countries as well as the global economy through solid deliverables. This seems to be a holistic and comprehensive approach to move forward. China’s Ministry of Commerce unveiled the outcomes achieved by Chinese and US delegations during their recent economic and trade talks in Kuala Lumpur, according to which the US side will cancel the 10 percent so-called fentanyl tariffs and suspend, for an additional year, the 24 percent reciprocal tariffs levied on Chinese goods, including goods from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region, showing constant improvement and realization of greater economic cooperation between the two countries.
On its part, China will make corresponding adjustments to its countermeasures against the aforementioned US tariffs. It seems that both China and the US have made adjustments to some policies, which are beneficial for both countries and the world. In summary, the presidential meeting is a milestone in China-US relations that will help stabilize global sentiment and trade expectations, offering relief for global demand and supply chains. The writer believes that the presidential meeting, held at a critical juncture in China-US relations, shows the importance of strategic communication and heads-of-state diplomacy.
Reportedly, it addressed specific bilateral concerns and even tried to resolve strategic issues. Thus, it provided new guidance and momentum for the stable development of bilateral ties and enhanced the world’s common expectations for the further stabilization of China-US relations. Thus, the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation should be the mantra of both countries for a constructive relationship grounded in a long-term vision.
Evidently, the agreement on fentanyl control cooperation, expanding agricultural trade and addressing individual cases involving relevant enterprises vividly reflected the strategic value of both economies, which are interdependent and integrated. Thus, economic and trade cooperation should continue to serve as the biggest stimulator of China-US relations, not as a stumbling block or conflict point. The writer suggests that mutual cooperation in combating illegal immigration, controlling telecommunications fraud, anti-money laundering and artificial intelligence should also be expedited.
—The writer is President, the Centre for Knowledge and Public Policy, Regional Expert: China, CPEC, BRI & World Affairs.
