Xi-Trump meeting charts course for constructive strategic stability in China-U.S. ties

BEIJING, May 17 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump have agreed on a new vision of building a constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability, a move observers say could help enhance China-U.S. cooperation, manage differences between the world's two largest economies, and inject much-needed certainty into global development.

The vision, raised during Trump's three-day state visit to China this week, is expected to provide strategic guidance for bilateral ties over the next three years and beyond while sending a positive message to the world.

NEW VISION FOR BILATERAL TIES

Xi defined the nature of "constructive strategic stability" as a positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, a sound stability with moderate competition, a constant stability with manageable differences, and an enduring stability with promises of peace.

The new vision of "constructive strategic stability" has the potential to change the trajectory of U.S.-China relations, with positive implications for the global community for decades to come, said Kenneth Quinn, president emeritus of the World Food Prize Foundation.

"It is the type of dramatic change that can only come from the actions of the two most significant leaders on the planet and is critically important in turning the world from conflict to cooperation and peace," Quinn said.

The concept emphasizes that the two largest economies and most influential countries can coexist through cooperation, mutual respect and responsible management of differences, said Nenad Stekic, senior research fellow at Serbia's Institute of International Politics and Economics.

Virdika Rizky Utama, executive director of Jakarta-based think-tank PARA Syndicate, said that by articulating "constructive strategic stability," Beijing is offering a framework through which both countries can manage their competition.

This is not just about bilateral ties, but about reassuring the international community that the world's two largest economies are committed to stability, he said.

STABILITY FOR GLOBAL ECONOMY

During their meeting, Xi and Trump conducted in-depth discussions on economic and trade issues, further charting the course for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations, China's Ministry of Commerce said Saturday.

According to the ministry, China and the United States have achieved positive outcomes during their recent consultations. For example, they will establish trade and investment councils. Through the trade council, the two sides will discuss issues such as tariff reductions on specific products, and they have agreed in principle to lower tariffs on products of respective concern on an equivalent scale.

"It's very important, of course, that the world's two largest economies are engaging at the highest level," Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Communications Department Julie Kozack said at a press briefing on Thursday.

Anything that helps reduce trade tensions and uncertainty is good for the two large economies and the global economy as well, Kozack added.

Bruce McLaughlin, CEO of Sinogie Consulting Group, Australia, noted that given the current international environment, global stability will increasingly depend on open, stable and rules-based trade and investment arrangements.

As the world's two major economies, China-U.S. relations affect not only bilateral trade and economic exchanges, but also global market confidence and the stability of industrial and supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

In this sense, McLaughlin added, this summit could provide a valuable window for countries and businesses to strengthen economic cooperation and improve supply-chain networks.

At a time when global markets have been rattled by conflict, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical rivalry, such an encounter between the leaders of the world's two largest economies helps stabilize expectations, said Joseph Ngwawi, executive director of the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre.

Ismael Buchanan, a senior lecturer at the College of Arts and Social Sciences of the University of Rwanda, believes that the meeting sent a strong and reassuring signal that the world's two largest economies remain committed to dialogue, engagement, and practical cooperation despite existing differences.

When both countries emphasize cooperation and constructive engagement, it sends a reassuring message to investors and developing economies that global economic fragmentation can be avoided, he said.