Chinese Ambassador: Xi-Trump Interactions Provide Invaluable Strategic Guidance for China-US Relations

Washington (ANTARA) - Interactions between heads of state provide an irreplaceable strategic guide for China-US relations, said Xie Feng, China’s Ambassador to the United States.

Xie made the statement in his latest interview with Newsweek regarding US President Donald Trump’s visit to China and China-US relations.

He also stressed that amid an increasingly turbulent world, the strategic value of China-US relations stands out even more.

In the interview, Xie said that President Xi Jinping and President Trump respect each other and continue to maintain close communication.

Since last year, the two leaders have spoken on the phone five times, exchanged a number of letters, and held a successful meeting in Busan, South Korea.

This meeting helped recalibrate the direction of China-US relations and steer them towards overall stability.

Xie expressed hope that meetings between the two heads of state will set the right course for the future development of China-US relations, opening the way to expand the list of dialogues and cooperation, advance positive agendas, while shortening the list of issues and properly managing differences.

This will not only promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral relations this year, but also pave the right path for China and the US to coexist in a new era based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and mutually beneficial cooperation, said Xie.

History has repeatedly proven that tariff wars harm the interests of both sides and have a negative impact on the entire world, said Xie.

He added that under the guidance of the two leaders, China and the US have reached a series of common understandings through economic and trade consultations, and have successfully stabilised bilateral economic and trade relations.

This was not achieved easily and must be cherished, but it is far from enough, said Xie, expressing hope that the US side will go further and fully eliminate unilateral tariffs and other restrictive measures.

Regarding the Taiwan issue, Xie said he believes the American people, who have faced the threat of division and experienced the Civil War in their history, can understand China’s determination and will to safeguard national unity.

China urges the US to commit to the One China principle and the three joint communiqués between China and the US through concrete actions, make the right choice as soon as possible, and fundamentally remove the biggest obstacle in China-US relations—the Taiwan issue—which risks dragging the two countries into confrontation and conflict, while opening up greater space for the development of bilateral relations, said Xie.

When asked about the fentanyl issue, Xie said that the fentanyl crisis in the US is not caused by China. Nevertheless, China is doing its utmost to provide assistance with the best intentions based on a humanitarian spirit and for the sake of China-US friendship.

He urged the US side to appreciate and uphold China’s goodwill, view the results of bilateral cooperation fairly, stop blaming China for the fentanyl problem, not impose alternative tariffs in place of fentanyl-related tariffs, and immediately remove China from the list of “major illicit drug producing or transit countries.”

Regarding artificial intelligence (AI), Xie said that the world does not want to see an “Iron Curtain” in AI or technological exclusion efforts, let alone a Star Wars-style rivalry in the AI field.

Xie hopes that the US side can work together with China in the same direction to strengthen dialogue, manage competition, and carry out cooperation, so that AI can become a new field of China-US cooperation and a new ladder for human progress.

Speaking about the growing trend among people in Western countries who consider Chinese culture trendy, Xie said that the “Becoming Chinese” trend that emerged late last year and this year’s “Chinamaxxing” reflect the increasing desire of the two peoples to get closer to each other.

China welcomes more US students to study in China, as well as more US citizens to take advantage of the 240-hour visa-free transit policy and China’s online visa application system to visit China and enjoy an extraordinary trip, said Xie.

Xie also hopes that the US side will remove barriers in visa applications and border entry processes for Chinese nationals, stop selective and discriminatory measures against visitors from China, and increase the number of direct flights to further unlock the potential for people-to-people exchanges.