A good start to China-US relationship
Editor’s note: Five researchers in international studies share their views with China Daily’s Cui Shoufeng on the just-concluded meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump. Excerpts below:
The tone for future ties set
The meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump has forged a cooperative, friendly relationship between the two leaders, laying the foundation for more constructive bilateral interactions. It also sets the tone for future China-US ties by reiterating the importance of the principle of no-conflict, no-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
After comparing notes on issues such as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Xi and Trump both vowed to better manage the disputes between the two countries and respect each other’s core interests. Their first face-to-face meeting bodes well for fruitful bilateral exchanges at other levels.
Trade frictions may continue
The uncertainties associated with China-US relations after Trump entered the White House almost three months ago did not affect the talks, because the US president did not let his previous ill-founded remarks against China get in the way.
The newly established dialogue mechanisms — a comprehensive economic dialogue, a diplomatic and security dialogue, a law enforcement and cybersecurity dialogue, and a dialogue on social and cultural issues — are a much needed extension of the bilateral communications structure forged when George W. Bush and Barack Obama were US presidents. Military communications, too, are likely to be boosted.
Trade frictions, however, may remain as the Trump administration is yet to decide its trade policies. And the US is not likely to scale down its involvement in some regional security matters such as the Korean Peninsula and South China Sea issues.
And since Trump has signed an executive order to reverse Obama’s Clean Power Plan, China-US cooperation on climate change faces an uncertain future, though both countries could seek to cooperate in the energy and infrastructure sectors.
Time to make things happen
China and the US should try to “make things happen” now that the Xi-Trump meeting has pointed the way to the future. To resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, China and the US need a sound plan to resume negotiations and dissuade the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from developing nuclear weapons and technology.
It is praiseworthy that Wu Dawei, China’s special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs, has embarked on a visit to the Republic of Korea to seek cooperation in handling the DPRK nuclear issue. There is no sign of the US being ready to deal with the DPRK alone. Besides, the US still needs China’s support to defuse the tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Dialogues are significant
The Xi-Trump meeting signals the beginning of a new era for China-US relations. It has given both leaders a chance to understand each other’s thoughts and policymaking tend- encies. Allowing the two leaders to exchange views on their core con- cerns, the meet- ing could also help them to reach a consensus on how to manage disputes.
Contrary to concerns, the two meetings between the leaders worked out fine: The first forged personal friendship between them, and the second witnessed the establishment of new dialogue mechanisms and agreements on deepening cooperation. Making sure the two countries are on the same page about the importance of dialogues and mutual trust is in itself an achievement.
Start mechanism for talks
The Xi-Trump meeting, as expected, has delivered the goods. The two leaders reached a consensus on major principles such as the need to exercise mutual respect in handling sensitive security issues.
But that doesn’t mean bilateral ties will be immune to third-party factors in the years ahead. Both sides should now put in place the diplomatic and security dialogue mechanisms they agreed to, and make sure they bear fruits as soon as possible, as the international community doesn’t want to see security tensions between the two sides rising.