Positive signs loom large in China-U.S. relations

Editor's note: He Weiwen is senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization and also former economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco and New York. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. 

The recent trip by Gavin Newsom, governor of the U.S. state of California, to China was a resounding success. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with the U.S. governor on October 25 to reaffirm Beijing's commitment to stronger bilateral ties amid growing diplomatic engagements between the two countries.

California, with a GDP of $3.7 trillion in 2022, is by far the largest state economy in the U.S., and if it were a country, it would rank fifth in the world, after the U.S., China, Japan and Germany. Californian and Chinese local governments have enjoyed the successful cooperation in climate change and green development – two focuses that were described by Newsom as holding the keys to tackling world climate change. 

Newsom had a very hectic schedule in China, visiting cities that included Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai. He test-drove a BYD electric vehicle which featured automated driving technology and expressed his admiration for the new technology while in Shenzhen; and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to protect the environment with his counterpart in Shanghai. Newsom rejected de-coupling with China and said that "the more successful China is, the more successful we all will be."

The warm atmosphere and the cooperative tone during Newsom's China trip were apparently different from the China-U.S. tensions at the national level. Similar approaches can also be found in Oregon, Washington, Texas, New York, New Jersey and other states. Newsom's fruitful China trip offers a good example of handling relations with China at the state and local levels. Well-informed sources have said that the governor of Texas is to visit China soon, and more governors' China trips are believed to be in the pipeline.

Unlike Washington, state governments of the U.S. do not have a goal of global dominance, nor do they put relevance on the so-called "rule-based international order." What they are concerned about are more jobs, more taxes and more economic benefits for their local constituents, thus it does not make sense for them to see China as a threat.

On the contrary, more trade, more investment and more people-to-people exchanges with China are helpful to reach those ends. During my time in service in Chinese consulates general in San Francisco and New York, a good atmosphere of exchanges and cooperation was observed during my frequent travel to various U.S. cities. This atmosphere has not been fundamentally changed by the fast deterioration in China-U.S. relations at the national level over the past seven years, and is unlikely to change drastically in the foreseeable future.

Parallel to the boost of sub-national exchanges, at the national level, China and the U.S. are also stepping up dialogues and exchanges. U.S. President Joe Biden met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the White House on October 25. During the meeting, Wang expressed that China heeds the U.S. hope to stabilize and improve relations with China. Biden made it clear that he attaches importance to China-U.S. relations, expressing hope that the U.S. is willing to stay in contact with China to jointly address global challenges.

Meanwhile, both governments have started handling substantive matters. A joint economic group has just had its first meeting. Other joint working groups on export control information exchanges, business and finance were also set up.

A good sign in the bilateral trade is looming.

According to Chinese customs statistics, China-U.S. trade, after suffering close to a free fall since September 2022, has shown an initial sign of stabilization. During the first seven months of 2023, Chinese exports to the U.S. fell by 18.4 percent year on year. The fall, however, slowed to 9 percent for August and September each, and the U.S. saw its return to the largest export market of China in each of the two months, outstripping the EU and ASEAN region again.

All the above developments, including the sub-national, national, and handling of substantive matters, point to a positive stabilization trend in China-U.S. bilateral relations, through enhanced dialogues and exchanges for managing differences and avoiding conflicts, and through energetic sub-national, business and people-to-people exchanges, with a hope of returning to the track of healthy development.

The China-U.S. relationship is not only a bilateral one, but also one vital to world peace, stability and prosperity. With more positive signs looming, more hard work is ahead. Governments, businesses and peoples of China and the U.S. should waste no time and work together to bring those hopes into reality.

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