Ties at historic starting point: Xi
We have capacity to solve world problems for years to come: Trump
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday that Sino-US relations are “at a new historic starting point.”
“China is willing to work with the US to respect each other, seek mutual benefit and reciprocity, focus on cooperation, and manage and control differences,” Xi said during talks with visiting US President Donald Trump.
The two presidents held a formal meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing after a grand ceremony to welcome Trump, with military band performances and cheering children from both China and the US.
“We believe Sino-US relations concern not only the well-being of both peoples, but also world peace, prosperity and stability,” Xi said.
“There can be no more important subject than China-US relations,” Trump said at the talks. “We have a capacity to solve world problems for many years to come.” The presidents agreed that cooperation is the “only correct choice” for China and the US, and a better future would only be achieved through win-win cooperation,
according to Xi.
They agreed to maintain the leading role of head-of-state diplomacy in developing bilateral relations, Xi noted.
The two sides agreed to increase exchanges at various levels, give full play to the four high-level dialogue mechanisms – the diplomatic and security dialogue, comprehensive economic dialogue, law enforcement and cybersecurity dialogue, and the social and people-to-people dialogue, Xi said.
They also agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as trade, military, law enforcement and people-to-people exchanges, among others.
China and the US have complementarities in many areas on global governance and world peace, An Gang, a member of the academic committee at the Pangoal Institution, a Beijing-based think tank, told the Global Times.
“China is helping the US reform the current world order, stabilize the existing mechanism and overcome the challenges of globalization. China can fix problems like the unequal distribution in the world when the US cannot,” An said.
United stance
Observers said that the hospitable reception Trump has received in China shows China was prepared for such an important occasion, and that Trump has also softened his criticism on many issues on China.
Both China and the US also agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on issues involving the Korean Peninsula and Afghanistan.
Xi said he and Trump “reiterated our firm commitment to achieving denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and resolving the nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations.” Xi made the remarks as he and Trump met the press following their talks.
The website of the Chinese foreign ministry quoted vice foreign minister Zheng Zeguang as saying both leaders have agreed to push for the denuclearization of the peninsula, and that the two countries will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear power.
“China and the US will cooperate on Afghanistan in areas like antidrugs, post-war reconstruction and personnel training. The US operation in Afghanistan will also reduce pressure on China’s counter-terrorism efforts in the northwest border, so this is a perfect example of Sino-US winwin cooperation,” An said.
Although the facts prove that the US and China can have win-win cooperation, some people in the US still refuse to abandon the zero-sum game mentality.
Ian Bremmer, founder and president of the Eurasia Group political consultancy, told CNBC that Trump’s policies “have placed China as a leader on the international stage.” Antony J. Blinken, former deputy secretary of state during the Obama era, wrote in The New York Times that “Trump is ceding global leadership to China.”
Diao Daming, an associate professor at the Renmin University of China, said that “we need to be aware that we are dealing with a divided superpower. Much of the criticism from the pro-establishment elites against Trump is irrational, as in many cases Trump was doing well.”
When more Americans benefit from Sino-US cooperation, they will realize that Trump has made the right decision, and China should also remember that cooperation with the US has to make ordinary people feel a sense of gain, Diao said.