Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Washington for top level talks with Donald Trump and members of his administration. Xi told the media that he and Trump had agreed to build a constructive China–US relationship of strategic stability during Trump’s visit to China in May, which has provided strategic guidance for the future development of bilateral ties.
Xi called for closer co-operation between the two countries, saying China and the USA should be “partners, not rivals”. The goals of national rejuvenation in China and making America great again could “go hand in hand”, complementing each other and benefitting the world.
The first result was the announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the USA and China will extend the ‘Busan’ trade truce, which lowered tariffs on some goods in exchange for loosening Chinese restrictions on rare earth mineral exports, until January 2027 – buying time for talks to continue at all levels to reach a more substantial agreement on bilateral trade.
Trade was top of the agenda. More than 7,000 Chinese enterprises operate in the USA, and American companies have established more than 84,000 enterprises in China. Two-way trade and investment have provided strong support for millions of jobs in the USA. So was Taiwan, the Chinese island taken over by the anti-communist Kuomintang leaders after they lost the civil war in 1949. Essentially an American protectorate, the Kuomintang regime posed as the “Republic of China” during the Cold War. It still does and it rightly accepts that it is a province of China – albeit one that does not accept the authority of the communist-led government in Beijing. This bogus “Republic of China” lost its UN seat in 1971. The world forum recognised the People’s Republic of China as the sole representative of China at the UN. Most countries, including the USA, have accepted the “one-China” principle. In recent years however, reactionary elements on the island have formed separatist movements calling for “independence” that can only happen with American support – a red line Washington crosses at its peril.
Artificial intelligence is another bone of contention. Although the Americans continue to control access to many of the most advanced chips, Chinese companies have been narrowing the gap with lower-cost AI mod els. The Chinese ambassador to the USA, Xie Feng, identified artificial intelligence as an area where competition should focus on innovation, safety and controllability, mutual learning among civilisations, improved global governance and advancing AI “towards good and for the benefit of humanity”. Differences between Beijing and Washington should be managed in good faith, with agreements put into practice rather than replaced by what he described as baseless promises.