Xinhua Commentary: Steering China-U.S. relations steadily forward

As U.S. President Donald Trump is kicking off his state visit to China — the first by a U.S. president in almost nine years, the two countries face an opportunity to explore the building of a strategic, constructive and stable China-U.S. relationship.

A review of bilateral relations, which have maintained overall stability despite ups and downs, demonstrates that head-of-state diplomacy has always served as the “anchor” of the relationship, playing an irreplaceable strategic guiding role and providing important strategic safeguards for the improvement and development of bilateral ties.

For more than a year now, Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Trump have maintained sound communication, including multiple phone calls and a successful meeting in Busan, the Republic of Korea, charting the direction and course for bilateral relations. Since the Busan meeting in October last year, China-U.S. relations have maintained overall stability and a positive momentum, a development widely welcomed by both countries and the international community.

As Xi has noted, dialogue is better than confrontation. The two sides should think big and recognize the long-term benefit of cooperation. Meanwhile, the world today is confronted with many complex challenges. China and the United States can jointly shoulder their responsibilities as major countries.

This year, both China and the United States have important items on their agendas. China has started its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period. The United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its independence. China will host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, and the United States will host the G20 Summit.

The people of both countries and the international community all expect to see the sound and stable development of China-U.S. relations that benefits both nations and the world at large.

As the world’s largest developing country and the largest developed country, respectively, China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. This is a tried-and-tested piece of common sense. In a world fraught with intertwined changes and chaos, a stable China-U.S. relationship is more crucial than ever to provide the stability the world so urgently needs.

The stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations calls upon both sides to work in the same direction in the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit, enhance dialogue and communication, manage differences properly, and expand practical cooperation.

As China-U.S. relations are among the most important bilateral ties in the world today, the strategic choices of the two countries bear on the future global landscape.

It is hoped that the upcoming head-of-state diplomacy will steer the great ship of China-U.S. relations steadily forward through winds and waves, so that both countries can accomplish more major and positive undertakings together and provide more stability and certainty for a volatile world. ■