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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BUSAN, South Korea, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — With the world watching and cameras flashing, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump shook hands here on Thursday in their long-awaited first meeting since Trump took office earlier this year.
Later, as their 100-minute meeting drew to a close in the Republic of Korea's second-largest city, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump walked side by side toward the exit. They shook hands in farewell.
The two leaders met against a backdrop of growing global economic challenges and protectionist trends. Many global observers see this high-stakes meeting as a crucial opportunity to strengthen what many consider the world's most important bilateral relationship and restore confidence in the global economy.
Plotting a course to strengthen relationships
Since Donald Trump took office in January, the two leaders have maintained close contact through phone calls and letters. As Xi Jinping noted during their meeting, under their joint leadership, relations between China and the United States have generally remained stable.
Facing winds, waves, and challenges, the leaders of the two countries must steer the right course, navigate a difficult terrain, and ensure the giant ship of China-US relations moves confidently forward, Xi Jinping noted during the meeting.
D. Trump echoed this spirit of cooperation, saying that US-China relations have traditionally been strong and will continue to improve, and expressed hope for a brighter shared future.
This was not the first time Xi Jinping had used the metaphor of recalibrating the course of the “giant ship of Sino-US relations” to highlight the main challenge facing the current bilateral relationship.
In a telephone conversation with Donald Trump in June following the high-level Chinese-American talks on economic and trade issues in Geneva, which marked the beginning of a series of subsequent bilateral talks on economic and trade issues, Xi Jinping emphasized that it was “particularly important” that both leaders avoid various disturbances and disruptions.
Both sides should effectively utilize the existing consultation mechanism on economic and trade issues and achieve mutually beneficial results in the spirit of equality and respect for each other's interests, he said then.
Interaction between China and the United States must reflect the characteristics of the new era, said Gu Qingyang, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, noting that the so-called "Thucydides Trap," which refers to confrontation between an established power and a rising power, is not inevitable, as many believe.
"We don't want China and the United States to be divided, disunited, or in a state of confrontation, as that would be detrimental to both sides. These two countries are already leading the world, and each is too strong to ignore the other," Gu Qingyang said.
Ahead of the Busan meeting, economic and trade groups from the two countries held a new round of consultations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, reaching a basic consensus on resolving relevant core issues, paving the way for Thursday's meeting.
On Thursday, Xi Jinping called on both sides to formulate and complete follow-up steps as soon as possible and ensure effective implementation of the overall agreements, so as to inspire confidence in both countries and the global economy through reliable results.
The two sides can continue negotiations in the spirit of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit, and continuously shorten the list of problems and expand the list of areas of cooperation, Xi Jinping said.
In a written statement to Xinhua, Maya Majueran, founding director of the Belt and Road Initiative in Sri Lanka, said the meeting sent a signal of confidence that the world's two largest economies are committed to managing their relationship responsibly rather than drifting toward confrontation.
For Tom Watkins, a former adviser to the Michigan China Innovation Center, “mutual respect” is key to future US-China relations.
"Each side must understand that miscalculation will have devastating consequences," Watkins said, adding that despite the ups and downs in bilateral relations in recent decades, "both sides have moved forward wisely."
"All major global issues intersect in Beijing and Washington. And how our leaders resolve these issues will determine the future of the world," he said.
Wider Impact Across the Asia-Pacific Region and Beyond
The world is facing growing uncertainty and rising protectionist tendencies, and the Asia-Pacific region is no exception. Trade barriers are rising, geopolitical rivalries are deepening, and the multilateral trading system is under increasing strain. Against this backdrop, Xi Jinping's call for dialogue instead of confrontation has resonated widely far beyond the conference hall in Busan.
Noting that China-US economic and trade relations have experienced ups and downs recently, Xi Jinping stated that practical cooperation should continue to serve as the pillar and driving force of China-US ties, not a stumbling block or source of friction. He said both sides should think big, recognize the long-term benefits of cooperation, and avoid getting caught in a vicious cycle of mutual retaliation.
On Thursday, China's Ministry of Commerce released the results reached by Chinese and American delegations during recent trade and economic talks in Kuala Lumpur.
The US will lift the 10% so-called "fentanyl tariff" and suspend for another year the 24% reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods, including those from the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, a ministry spokesperson announced. In response, China will adjust its countermeasures accordingly and continue to implement certain tariff waivers.
The United States will also suspend for one year the new rule announced on September 29, which expands export restrictions under the sanctions list to any companies 50 percent or more owned by one or more listed entities. China, in turn, will suspend for one year the export control measures introduced on October 9 and conduct further review, the spokesperson clarified.
Other results included Washington's decision to suspend for one year measures under Section 301 of the US Trade Act targeting China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries. Beijing will accordingly suspend its countermeasures once the US suspension takes effect.
Experts in Asia-Pacific countries view this cooperative approach as timely and necessary.
M. Majueran stated that from Beijing's perspective, the path forward lies not in inevitable competition, but in necessary coordination. He added that Chinese leadership consistently promotes a win-win model of cooperation that rejects zero-sum thinking in favor of shared progress.
State Secretary of the Council of Ministers of Cambodia Eng Kok Thai noted that the meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump provides an opportunity to de-escalate tensions between the two major powers and return to dialogue to resolve the accumulated problems.
During their meeting on Thursday, Xi Jinping noted that the modern world faces many serious challenges, stressing that China and the United States can share responsibility as leading countries and jointly achieve new, tangible and meaningful results for the benefit of both countries and the world.
“The trajectory of Sino-American relations will largely determine the strategic and economic environment in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond,” Eng Kok Thai emphasized.
Cooperation ensures stable trade, technology exchange, and security—results that benefit not only the region but the entire world, he concluded. –0–
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