President Xi Jinping flew to the United States with an olive branch, and after four hours of talks with US President Joe Biden, it appears to have worked.

The talks went so well that the only thing missing was the release of a flock of white doves, signifying peace. Perhaps that will come later, as more work is still needed for complete harmony. But progress has been made.

The Xi-Biden talks in San Francisco came after months of behind-the-scenes preparations by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and their respective staffs. It was one year and a day since the two presidents last met, in Bali, and agreed to establish a worthwhile communications link for open dialogue between the two countries. The Xi-Biden meeting in the Filoli historic house and garden in Woodside, California, 40 kilometers south of San Francisco, was the fruition of the Wang-Blinken efforts to ensure a successful outcome to the presidential talks.

It also came at a time when bilateral ties between China and Australia “embarked on the right path of improvement and development” with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing in early November. Peace is in the air.

The China-US relationship, said Xi after the meeting, is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and should be perceived and envisioned in the broad context of an accelerating global transformation unseen in a century.

Xi was firm on the Taiwan question, which remains the most critical and sensitive issue in China-US relations. China takes seriously the positive statements made by the US in the Bali meeting. The US side should take tangible actions to honor its commitment to not supporting “Taiwan independence”, stop arming Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification. China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable

Indeed, such is the magnitude of the union. It was, perhaps, the most crucial meeting of the two superpowers since the launch of “pingpong diplomacy” in the early 1970s. The recent years were marred with squabbles, provocations, trade disputes, sanctions, misunderstandings, and a complete breakdown of communications. For the sake of world harmony, the new catchphrase of “Xiplomacy” was required. Xi said after the meeting that if the US and China respect each other, coexist in peace, and pursue win-win cooperation, they will be fully capable of rising above differences and finding the right way for the two major countries to get along.

Biden, for his part, reaffirmed the five commitments he made in Bali last year when the two leaders met. Those being that the US does not seek a new Cold War, does not seek to change China’s system, does not seek to revitalize its alliances against China, does not support “Taiwan independence”, and has no intention to have a conflict with China.

The two economies, he said, are mutually dependent, and the US is glad to see prosperity in China. He claimed that the US does not seek to contain or suppress China’s development or to decouple from China. The US, he added, adheres to the one-China principle, welcomes dialogue between government agencies at various levels, and is ready to maintain open and candid communication with China to increase understanding, avoid misperceptions, and manage differences.

It appears that China is fed up with continual US provocations, which prompted Xi to say that China has no intention to challenge the US or to unseat it. “We will be glad to see a confident, open, ever-growing, and prosperous US.” He added: “Likewise, the US should not bet against China, or interfere in China’s internal affairs.” He also said that China does not export its ideology.

He was firm on the Taiwan question, which remains the most critical and sensitive issue in China-US relations. China takes seriously the positive statements made by the US in the Bali meeting. The US side should take tangible actions to honor its commitment to not supporting “Taiwan independence”, stop arming Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification. China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable.

In short, what Xi was saying to his US counterpart is that for the two nations to work together for the furtherance of world harmony, there has to be trust, understanding of each other’s positions, open communications, and mutual respect for territorial rights and other rights.

Unfortunately, Biden is not really his own man, and whatever he says or does is subject to the whims of the US Congress, many members of which carry anti-China sentiments. Bills are passed in Congress and signed into law by the president, who can veto any congressional bill. However, these vetoes can be overturned by a two-thirds vote of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The US political system is unstable, as shown in the recent House speaker elections and debates over national spending. Therefore, it may be some time before the white doves are set free.

The author is a former chief information officer of the Hong Kong government, a public relations and media consultant, and a veteran journalist.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.