Chinese President Xi Jinping said on October 30 that China and the United States can jointly shoulder responsibility as major countries, and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of their two countries and the whole world.
President Jinping made the remarks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump after he landed in Busan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), ahead of the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju and his state visit to the ROK. The in-person talks came after three phone conversations and several exchanges of letters between the two presidents since Trump was re-elected.
Just before the meeting, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Because of other countries testing programmes, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”
President Jinping said the latest round of China-US consultations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the two economic and trade teams reached consensus on solving various issues, has provided the necessary conditions for the meeting. “Dialogue is better than confrontation,” he said. China and the US should maintain communication through various channels and at various levels to enhance mutual understanding, Jinping added.
The Chinese and US presidents agreed to maintain interactions on a regular basis. Trump said he looked forward to visiting China early next year, and invited President Jinping to visit the United States.
The relationship between China and the US is widely viewed as the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world, since the two nations, combined, are home to over 40 per cent of the global GDP, according to a survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. An annual membership survey from the US-China Business Council, released in July, found that more than 80 per cent of American companies doing business in China were profitable last year and said they will remain committed to pursuing opportunities in China over the long term.
The business relationship should continue to serve as the anchor and driving force for China-US relations, not a stumbling block or a point of friction, said Jinping during the October 30 talks.
“The two sides should think big and recognise the long-term benefit of cooperation, and must not fall into a vicious cycle of mutual retaliation,” he said.
China and the US should be partners and friends, Jinping said. “That is what history has taught us and what reality needs.” Given different national conditions, the two countries do not always see eye to eye with each other and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then, he said.
Trump said the US and China have always had a “fantastic” relationship and it will be even better. “We will make both China and the US even better,” he said. China is the biggest partner of the United States, Trump said. “Together, our two countries can get many great things done for the world and have many years of success.”
