Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump will meet in Florida, the United States, from Thursday to Friday to set the tone for the future development of bilateral relations.[Special coverage]
The Mar-a-Lago meeting, the first between the two presidents since Trump took office in January, will dispense with much of the formality usually entailed in a state visit, focusing on effective communication of issues of common concern.
For those alarmed that uncertainties might arise from policy adjustments of the Trump administration, the meeting sends a positive and reassuring message that the two countries lay great stress on stability in their relationship.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1979, China and the United States have had their share of ups and downs, but cooperation has remained the main theme, especially now given their greater-than-ever interdependence and increasing convergence of interests.
The two countries have come a long way, with two-way trade of goods surging 207-fold from 1979 to 519.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2016. Bilateral investment amounted to more than 170 billion dollars at the end of last year. They also cooperated in the fight against terrorism, climate change and other issues of global impact.
Accomplishments like these speak volumes about how beneficial a sound China-U.S. relationship can be, not only to the two peoples involved, but the world at large. Cooperation has proved to be the right way forward.
In 2013, Beijing and Washington agreed to move forward their ties based on non-confrontation, no conflict, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
These principles are expected to continue to prevail, as indicated by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's reiteration of the principles in his March trip to China and Trump's pledge to adhere to the one-China policy in a phone talk with Xi in February.
Maintaining close communication, especially at the top level, will make sure their relations stay on the right track.
Amid a weak global economic recovery and a growing backlash against globalization, the world is looking to China and the United States.
In the upcoming meeting, Xi and Trump are expected to seek consensus on economic and trade cooperation, among other topics. Results of the meeting will have global implications.
As major countries, China and the United States should do more than just looking out for their own best interests.
They need to set good examples for the world, shoulder due responsibility, and separately or jointly, provide more public goods to promote mankind's well-being.
Avoiding the Thucydides Trap is crucial. Enhanced dialogue and coordination between the two sides could do the trick.
