Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump held their first face-to-face meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on April 6-7.

The first meeting between the leaders of China and the United States since Trump entered office is a weathervane for the future of China-US relations. Concretely speaking, the meeting was significant in four aspects:

The meeting has set the tone for the general picture of China-US relations. Leaders of both countries stressed the importance of developing relations between the world’s two largest economies.

President Xi stressed that a good relationship between China and the United States will not only benefit both countries but also the world. Xi said cooperation is the only right choice for China and the United States. Trump said that both the Unites States and China bear great responsibilities as major countries.

Based on this consensus, these two nations will grow closer. Both nations have the willingness to expand the scope of cooperation. At the same time, both are aware of the ups and downs of China-US relations in the past decades, realizing that differences do exist in terms of political systems, development paths and social cultures. It is normal for conflicts and issues to exist between them. The two parties are capable of managing the disagreement on the basis of mutual respect, and also willing to do so.

The meeting cleared obstacles to the development of China-US relations, which involves many tiers and many aspects and should be supported by a smooth and effective mechanism of dialogue and cooperation. During the meeting, the two parties declared the establishment of four high-level dialogue mechanisms: comprehensive economy, diplomacy and security, law enforcement and cybersecurity, and social and cultural issues.

The first two dialogue mechanisms have already been established and the two sides have agreed on the working agenda for the next step of the two mechanisms. It can be said that these four mechanisms establish the framework for China-US interaction.

The meeting also accompanied  the deep development of China-US ties. China takes the United States’ concerns seriously, and the two sides discussed economic and trade issues. Answering US doubts, China has kindly reminded them that the two nations are important trade partners, and economic and trade exchanges are beneficial to people in both countries.

The fundamental principle for cooperation should be mutual benefit. China agrees that both sides should prudently manage the frictions in economic and trade relations, suggesting that China-US cooperation in creating greater prosperity for all to share will help to resolve the problem. China upholds the principle of openness and sharing. President Xi explicitly welcomed US participation in the cooperation within the framework of the “Belt and Road” initiative.

China restated its principles and stances on such issues as Taiwan, Tibet and the South China Sea, reducing the risk of US misunderstandings. The two leaders also exchanged opinions on major international and regional issues. China explained the nation’s stances on and solution to Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. The constructive communication between the leaders of the two nations will provide significant guidance for the policymaking of the Trump administration.

Last of all, the meeting also paved the way for the future development of China-US ties. The two parties made plans on high-level communication. Accepting the invitation of President Xi, President Trump will pay a state visit to China. The two leaders will stay in close touch by means of meetings, phone calls and email. President Xi and President Trump deepened mutual understanding after in-depth talks for more than seven hours, establishing a good working relationship and personal friendship.

As the largest developing country and the largest developed country, respectively, China and the United States have one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. This meeting achieved fruitful results, drawing a new blueprint for China-US ties in the new era. This meeting will push forward the healthy, stable and forward development of China-US relations from a new starting point and promote the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region as well as the world.

 

Su Xiaohui is the deputy director of the Department for International and Strategic Studies of the China Institute of International Studies.