Xi Jinping directs China-US relations towards stability
Beijing (ANTARA) - Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to travel to Washington for a state visit and an important meeting with US President Donald Trump.
With this visit, both presidents are expected to conclude a series of reciprocal visits over recent months. The upcoming trip will mark Xi’s second state visit to the US since his first in 2015.
After more than a decade, the world’s most significant bilateral relationship has undergone a turbulent journey. How Beijing and Washington manage their relationship and find space for cooperation is becoming increasingly influential for both nations and the world.
New Vision
In May, while hosting Trump in Beijing, Xi opened their discussions with three questions.
“Can China and the US overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm for relations between major powers? Can we together face global challenges and provide greater stability to the world? Can we together build a bright future for our bilateral relations for the prosperity of both nations and the future of humanity?”
These questions were posed against a backdrop of turbulent bilateral relations lasting years, ranging from trade disputes to technology restrictions. Xi has repeatedly emphasised the need to find the right way for the world’s two great powers to interact well.
The high-level meeting in Beijing provided new momentum for these efforts. Xi and Trump have agreed on a new vision to build constructive China-US relations with strategic stability over the next three years and beyond.
“This marks the first time in over a decade that China and the US have reached a consensus on how to define the relationship, which is widely recognised by leaders from both sides,” said Da Wei, director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University.
For some time, China-US relations have followed the path set by both leaders. “Head-of-state diplomacy serves as the anchor for China-US relations,” stated Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday (17/9) during a telephone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as part of the preparations for the upcoming meeting.
Since Trump’s re-election, Xi has continued to maintain communication with him through various means, such as face-to-face meetings and telephone calls, which occasionally take place in a casual format.
During the visit last May, Xi invited Trump to Zhongnanhai, the leadership complex in central Beijing, for a closed-door meeting—an invitation extended to only a handful of foreign leaders.
Xi and Trump walked through the complex’s gardens, chatting and occasionally pausing to admire the towering ancient trees and blooming Chinese roses.
“While President Trump hopes to make America great again, I am committed to leading the Chinese people towards national rejuvenation,” Xi remarked as the two leaders sat together for tea.
Similar interactions have occurred since Xi’s first meeting with Trump in 2017. At Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private residence in Florida, Xi presented him with a piece of Chinese calligraphy inscribed with an ancient proverb: “A nine-story tower begins from a mere mound of earth; a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Xi encouraged both sides to remain on the right track, avoid disruptions, and promote the development of stable bilateral relations.
Moments outside formal meeting tables such as these have become a hallmark of Xi’s interactions with Trump, providing a more personal atmosphere to understand each other’s countries and perspectives.
The message contained a metaphor regarding the relationship that Xi hopes both nations can build. He conveyed to Trump that both leaders can mobilise support from people in both countries who possess the goodwill and enthusiasm to advance China-US relations, building the relationship layer by layer to make it stronger, higher, and more magnificent.