By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
From Sept. 23 to 25, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the United States at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump. The visit reinforced longstanding friendship, expanded areas of mutual cooperation, and advanced the shared prosperity of both countries’ peoples.
The two heads of state held candid, in-depth discussions on key bilateral and global issues, reaching a series of new agreements. Their meeting enriched the substance of building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability and provided new strategic guidance for bilateral ties.
The international community generally believes that the meeting between the two presidents in Washington sent “a clear signal of predictability” amid global uncertainties. The meeting is expected not only to bolster the welfare of citizens in both countries but also to strengthen prospects for international peace and sustainable development.
This rapid succession of presidential visits — occurring within a span of less than six months — is unprecedented in the long history of China-U.S. relations.
The two heads of state have maintained close exchanges and fostered a pattern of interaction marked by mutual respect and sincerity, which has become the most valuable strategic asset in China-U.S. relations. Over the past year, they have sustained regular communication through multiple channels, jointly steering the course of the China-U.S. relationship.
During Trump’s visit to China this May, the two heads of state agreed to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability. This new positioning reflects the realities of China-U.S. relations while expressing aspirations for their future. It marks an important step toward finding the right way for China and the United States to get along, and has been widely welcomed by the peoples of both countries and the international community.
During his visit to the United States this time, Xi urged the two sides to translate that vision into action. He made clear that China and the United States should, and fully can, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results through practical cooperation, help each other succeed through healthy competition, properly manage differences by seeking common ground while respecting differences, and build peace by fostering mutual trust, so that a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability can better benefit the two peoples and people around the world.
This important statement charted a clear course for turning the vision of building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability into action and injected fresh impetus into the long-term development of bilateral ties.
China and the United States have deeply intertwined interests and vast potential for cooperation. Cooperation is a two-way street. A stable China-U.S. economic and trade relationship requires both expanding the list of cooperation, and shortening the list of problems.
Ahead of the meeting between the two heads of state, Chinese and U.S. economic and trade teams held a new round of consultations and reached new agreements. These outcomes offer timely benefits for businesses and consumers in both nations, while contributing to global economic stability.
It once again shows that the essence of China-U.S. economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and that in the face of differences and frictions, equal-footed consultation is the only right choice.
As long as both sides uphold the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit, they can find a way to resolve their problems and thus keep China-U.S. economic and trade relations stable and moving in a positive direction.
Defining principles and respecting bottom lines is an important prerequisite for building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability. The Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests and is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations.
There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. China’s position on safeguarding national unity and territorial integrity is clear. China hopes the U.S. side will adhere to the correct position of opposing “Taiwan independence,” and handle the Taiwan question with prudence to lay a solid foundation for bilateral strategic cooperation and the development of China-U.S. ties.
Facing the changes in the world, in the times, and of historical significance today, China and the United States, as two major countries, shoulder a historic responsibility of advancing human development and progress.
Both China and the United States are leading nations in artificial intelligence (AI). While they compete in AI, they have even more reasons to cooperate, Xi said, urging the two sides to leverage respective strengths in AI rather than guard against each other.
The two sides can continue to engage in dialogue on AI, exchange views on its risks and benefits, and work together to prevent the misuse and abuse of AI. They should also maintain human control over AI technologies. A people-centered approach should be upheld, and AI should be developed for the positive and for good, so that AI will serve human progress.
Calling AI the technology that bears on the future of humanity, Trump said the United States and China should maintain dialogue and strengthen cooperation on AI.
The two presidents agreed to support each other in successfully hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 Summit, aiming to amplify collaborative efforts in tackling transnational challenges and strengthening multilateral governance.
Working together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of the two countries and the whole world is precisely what should be part of efforts to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability.
This year marks a pivotal juncture for both China and the United States, placing bilateral relations at a new historical threshold. The two sides should demonstrate the sense of responsibility expected of major countries, respond to the aspirations of their peoples and the trend of the times, and jointly implement the important consensuses reached by the two heads of state.
They should turn the vision of a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability into action and work toward a relationship featuring cooperation as the mainstay, moderate competition, manageable differences, and promises of peace, so that they can find the right path for the two great countries to get along on this planet they both call home.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)
To translate the vision of a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability into action
