THE Chinese and U.S. leaders reached eight deliverables and understandings, further enriching the substance of vision for China-U.S. relations, opening up new space for future cooperation, building new bridges for friendly exchanges, and sending a positive signal to the world, experts have said.
From September 23 to 25, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the United States. During the visit, the two heads of state had in-depth views on bilateral relations as well as major international and regional issues.
The Chinese and U.S. leaders reached a consensus on eight outcomes which span a wide range of areas, including economy and trade, technology, people-to-people exchanges and international situations. A major one is that the two sides have agreed to build a constructive relationship of strategic stability based on respect, fairness and reciprocity.
On the economic and trade front, both sides recognized the positive role of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism and the outcomes of consultations between their economic and trade teams, agreed to establish and advance mechanisms such as a trade council, and reached an arrangement for a 30-billion-U.S.-dollar reciprocal tariff reduction.
In science and technology, they agreed to establish a China-U.S. dialogue on artificial intelligence and set up a bilateral communication channel for AI incidents.
In the security domain, the two militaries agreed to conclude a memorandum of understanding on crisis communication and prevention as soon as possible.
"For example, China and the United States reached consensus on reducing tariffs on 30 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods. Of course, 30 billion U.S. dollars is not very large relative to the overall China-U.S. trade volume, but it is a good start. Another relatively new but, I think, very important outcome is the China-U.S. dialogue on artificial intelligence. They agreed to establish, for example, a communication mechanism for AI incidents. I think this is particularly important," said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University.
To promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the United States, the Chinese side announced a series of new measures: giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are taking up residence at Zoo Atlanta and will soon meet the American public.
During his 2023 trip to San Francisco for the APEC leaders' meeting, Xi announced an initiative to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs over the next five years. By May this year, that goal had been reached two and a half years ahead of schedule.
At a White House welcome ceremony hosted by Trump on Thursday, Xi announced that China would invite 100,000 more young Americans on exchange and study programs over the next five years.
Oluwaseyi Christopher Oniya from Texas has lived in China for nearly 20 years. He hopes that more American young people will come to China like him.
"Over these 20 years in China, I have seen tremendous changes in the country. I have great expectations for the development of people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States. I think if the two countries can communicate well and cooperate well, it will make the world more peaceful," he said.
The consensus also carries a warm touch. From jointly recalling the history of fighting side by side during World War II to supporting each other in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and the G20 Summit, China and the United States have sent a clear signal to the world: competition needs boundaries, disagreements must be managed, and cooperation requires constantly finding new fulcrums.
"In the outcomes list this time, both sides confirmed that China and the United States fought side by side during World War II and were important allies in the anti-fascist war. I think such statements and such reconnections of history are particularly important for further promoting exchanges between the peoples of China and the United States and people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries in the future," said Da.
When speaking at a welcome banquet hosted by Trump at the White House on Sept 24, Xi mentioned a special redwood tree growing in the Hangzhou Botanical Garden in east China's Zhejiang Province where he once worked.
The sapling was presented as a special state gift by then U.S. President Richard Nixon during his historic 1972 trip to China, and it has now grown into a towering tree.
