In response to President Trump's invitation, Xi Jinping, President of China, made a state visit to the United States from September 23rd to 25th.
From the personal pick-up at the airport to the solemn welcome ceremony, and then to the carefully arranged White House state dinner, the US side has treated the visit of Chinese leaders with a high level of courtesy, which is rare in recent years.
Why does Trump place such great importance on this visit? In less than half a year, Chinese and American leaders visited each other from Beijing to Washington. What stabilizing factors have been added to bilateral relations?
Regarding these issues, WeChat Observer interviewed Professor Wu Xinbo, the dean of the Institute of International Issues at Fudan University and the director of the Center for American Studies. In his view, as the US midterm elections approach and several foreign policy agendas face difficulties, maintaining stable relations between China and the United States is a major priority for Trump. This meeting aims to further transform the vision of "constructive strategic stability between China and the United States" into action by enhancing strategic mutual trust, expanding strategic consensus, and strengthening strategic interaction.
Wu Xinfu believes that the positive developments in the fields of economics, trade, and artificial intelligence have expanded the scope of cooperation between the two countries. The initiative to ‘invite 100,000 American teenagers to China for exchanges and studies over the next five years’ is an investment in the future of Sino-US relations.
Dialogue Transcript
This meeting between the two heads of state still focuses on the overarching goal of ‘constructive strategic stability between China and the United States’. To achieve this goal, China and the United States must establish a high level of strategic mutual trust, reach strategic agreements on some important issues, and continuously engage in positive strategic interactions.
Less than half a year after the meeting between Chinese and American leaders in Beijing, President Xi visited the United States for an official state visit. His in-depth exchanges with President Trump undoubtedly contributed to enhancing strategic mutual trust between China and the United States. China and the United States reached consensus on conducting dialogue, coordination, and cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, artificial intelligence, military relations, and regional and sensitive issues. These efforts helped to strengthen strategic consensus between the two countries. Centered around this official visit, a series of high-level dialogues, consultations, and face-to-face interactions took place between China and the United States. This is an example of strategic interaction between China and the United States.
Overall, the goal of establishing “constructive strategic stability relations between China and the United States” has been achieved through these three levels.
From a personal standpoint, this reflects the respect and admiration that Trump has always expressed towards President Xi, as well as the personal friendship that has been established between the two leaders.
From Trump's political needs, I believe that he wishes to create a successful narrative of diplomatic relations with China in order to advance his domestic and foreign policy objectives.
The U.S. mid-term elections are approaching, and the Republican Party is currently facing difficulties. By handling Sino-U.S. relations well, China can purchase more American agricultural products, energy products, and even Boeing aircraft. This will help the Republicans gain votes in the mid-term elections, making it important for Trump.
On the other hand, Trump's foreign agenda: Currently, the United States is stuck in a deadlock in the Middle East and Iran, with no clear way forward. His attempt to promote reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine has also failed to make progress. His efforts to resume dialogue with North Korean leaders have not received a positive response. In these matters, he hopes to receive support from China.
Trump is a person who does not start early unless it benefits him. The fact that he attaches such importance to and dedicates himself so fully to this matter indicates that for him, Sino-US relations are of great significance.
The United States has come to realize in its interactions with China that China is a country that values history culturally. Therefore, they also strive to reflect the historical significance of important events through various means.
The wine used during Nixon's visit to China in 1972 also indicates that the current Sino-US relations are at an important and historically significant moment. This visit by President Xi is historic and of milestone significance.
This state banquet had a total of more than 130 participants, with only about 19 Chinese attendees. Why were there so few Chinese guests? As Trump had mentioned before, there weren’t enough seats available, and leading figures from various fields in the United States wanted to attend. Trump placed great importance on relations with the American business community. During his visit to China in May, he also brought a large delegation of business leaders. Therefore, he wanted to reserve those seats for the American business community, using this opportunity to promote cooperation between the business sector and the Trump administration.
For the American business community, they also greatly hope to demonstrate their importance to Sino-US relations by participating in such a grand event. These business leaders, whether accompanying Trump on his visit to China or attending the state dinner at the White House, are all driven by their strong desire to deepen economic and trade relations with China.
I believe that interactions outside of formal talks, whether it’s walking, drinking tea, or visiting cultural and historical sites, can create a relaxed and informal atmosphere for the two leaders. This allows both sides to truly understand and appreciate each other’s intentions. Therefore, such activities have a uniqueness that formal talks do not possess.
Additionally, arranging such informal activities also indicates that the relationships between leaders are not merely professional working relations, but also personal friendships. The cultivation of such relationships is positive for enhancing mutual trust between the two leaders.
First, the one-year trade “ceasefire” agreement reached between China and the US last October has been extended until January of next year. Second, both sides have exempted tariffs on imports worth $30 billion, and it is expected that this amount will be increased to $30 billion, allowing even more goods to be included in the duty-free category. This will help to expand and stabilize bilateral trade. Third, some agreements related to increasing mutual procurement of products between the two sides have been reached.
Fourth, China has proposed a comprehensive plan for handling Sino-US economic and trade relations, including trade, investment, technology, and finance. Since these issues are interconnected, we cannot discuss trade or investment separately. These issues should be considered together. The US side is open to this proposal, and further discussions will take place between the two sides in this regard.
Fifthly, both sides engaged in constructive discussions on artificial intelligence issues and agreed to establish a mechanism for communicating about artificial intelligence security risks. This is of positive significance for both China and the United States to cooperate in addressing the challenges posed by the development of artificial intelligence technology, and it also expands the scope of cooperation between China and the United States.
