Tangible progress urged in Sino-US ties

Representatives from China and the United States participated in a dialogue on Aug 25 in Beijing, calling for joint efforts to translate the consensus reached by the two countries' heads of state into concrete action and tangible results, while also suggesting expansion of practical cooperation in several fields.

They highlighted mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as key to keeping bilateral ties on a stable track, while stressing the need for the two countries to jointly address global challenges and bring greater stability to the world.

The gathering was the third China-US Track 1.5 Dialogue, jointly launched in October 2023 by the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Asia Society as a platform connecting representatives from politics, strategy, business, academics, civil society and youth.

In May, President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump agreed to make the building of a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability the new positioning for bilateral ties, providing strategic guidance for the relationship over the next three years and beyond.

John L. Thornton, co-chair of the Asia Society Board of Trustees, said Xi and Trump are both historic figures who know each other well and have a good personal relationship.

Thornton said the key test is what the new positioning would mean in practice and whether it can produce results. "There are a lot of possibilities for progress, and I'm optimistic that there will be progress," he said.

Christopher Nixon Cox, a member of the Richard Nixon Foundation's board of directors and a grandson of former US president Richard Nixon, called the leader-to-leader relationship "the most important thing", saying it gives him confidence about the future of bilateral ties.

While acknowledging that China and the US would continue to have differences, Cox said they should seek common ground in the fields of artificial intelligence, agriculture, food security and economic affairs to help build a stable and prosperous world.

Cox invoked Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972 as an example of the political courage required on both sides. "There are many lessons from my grandfather's trip to China," he said. "One is that nothing happens without courage."

Liu Haixing, minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, said a stable China-US relationship is in itself the greatest contribution to world peace and development.

Liu called for expanding common interests, rejecting zero-sum thinking, managing differences through clear policy signals and upholding the bottom line of no conflict and no confrontation.

Competition between major countries is normal, but that should not define the entire relationship, he said.

Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council, said China's importance to US companies extends well beyond the size of the Chinese market.

"Think of China not as a market but as a platform. That's what's important," Stein said. China's technological ecosystem, the partnerships companies form and the experience they gain there help shape products and business processes used in other markets, he added.

zhaojia@chinadaily.com.cn