President Xi stresses ‘constructive strategic stability’ in relations during talks with Trump at landmark meeting

China and the United States will work toward building a constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability, according to a new vision that President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump agreed on May 14 to define how the world’s two largest economies will handle their ties.

During his talks with Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi said that China is committed to the steady, sound and sustainable development of Sino-US relations.

The new vision will provide strategic guidance for China-US relations over the next three years and beyond, and should be welcomed by the people of both countries and the international community, he said.

Xi said that “constructive strategic stability” means positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, sound stability with moderate competition, constant stability with manageable differences, and enduring stability with promises of peace.

Building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability should not be a mere slogan, but concrete action taken by both sides toward the same goal, he added.

Xi expressed readiness to work with Trump to set the course and steer the giant ship of China-US relations, to make 2026 a historic and landmark year, opening a new chapter in bilateral ties.

Trump paid a three-day state visit to China, which started on May 13, the first by a sitting US president in nearly nine years.

During the talks, Xi urged the US to handle the Taiwan question with extra caution, saying that it is the most important issue in China-US relations.

He emphasized that if handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy, he said.

Noting that “Taiwan independence” and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water, Xi said that safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the greatest common denominator between China and the US.

Xi underlined the need for China and the US to find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era. He said that the two countries have more common interests than differences, that success of one is an opportunity for the other, and that a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world.

“China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We should be partners, not rivals. We should help each other succeed and prosper together,” he said.

Noting that transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe and the international situation is fluid and turbulent, Xi said that the world has come to another crossroads.

“Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm of major-country relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide greater stability for the world?

“Can we build a bright future together for our bilateral relations in the interest of the well-being of the two peoples and the future of humanity? These are the questions vital to history, to the world and to the people. They are the questions of our times that the leaders of major countries need to answer together,” Xi said.

On China-US economic and trade relations, Xi said that they are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, and that trade wars have no winners.

Where disagreements and frictions exist, equal-footed consultation is the only right choice, he said.

Xi noted that talks between economic and trade teams of the two countries, which were held on May 13 in the Republic of Korea, produced generally balanced and positive outcomes, saying that this is good news for the people of China and US, as well as the wider world.

The two sides should jointly sustain the good momentum that they have worked hard to create, he said.

Xi called on both countries to make better use of communication channels in the political, diplomatic and military fields, and expand exchanges and cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, health, agriculture, tourism, people-to-people ties and law enforcement.

Trump called Xi “a great leader” and China “a great country”, saying that he has tremendous respect for the Chinese president and the Chinese people.

Noting that the meeting between Xi and himself was the biggest summit the world was watching, Trump said he will work together with Xi to strengthen communication and cooperation, properly handle differences, make bilateral relations better than ever before and embrace a fantastic future.

He said that the US and China are the most important and most powerful countries in the world, and together the two presidents can do a lot of big and good things for the two countries and the world.

During the talks, the two presidents also exchanged views on major international and regional issues, such as the Middle East situation, the Ukraine crisis and the Korean Peninsula.

They agreed to support each other in hosting a successful APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and G20 Summit this year.

Contact the writers at caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn