Experts on new vision for China-US ties: A realistic framework to co-exist

A new vision of building a constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability has become a focus after the closely-watched meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump on Thursday.

During the meeting, Xi defined the nature of "constructive strategic stability" as a positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, a sound stability with moderate competition, a constant stability with manageable differences, and an enduring stability with promises of peace.

Diao Daming, the deputy director of the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China, said that for China and the US to build a strategically stable relationship, it means that both sides must genuinely move toward each other and work together to promote the continuous, orderly and sustainable development of China-US relations. 

Noting the new positioning outlines basic approaches for China and the US to co-exist properly and maintain stability across different issues and areas, Diao said the ultimate outcome of pursuing these approaches is that China and the US can achieve a lasting stability in which peace is foreseeable. 

A new phase

Citing past years of tariff escalation, technological restrictions and retaliatory measures, Sun Taiyi, associate professor at Christopher Newport University, said "what is emerging now is a more realistic middle ground" as both sides increasingly recognize that neither full confrontation nor full separation is sustainable as far as each other's leverage and enormous costs that uncontrolled escalation would bring are considered.

"In that sense, 'constructive strategic stability' is not necessarily based on deep mutual trust or ideological convergence, but rather on the recognition that stability itself has become a shared strategic interest."

Noting the new positioning not only moves beyond the old expectation that engagement alone would transform the relationship, but also beyond the more recent assumption that confrontation is inevitable, Sun said it is "an upgrade from earlier formulations," reflecting a new phase in which both sides still compete, but increasingly seek mechanisms, communication channels, and mutual constraints to prevent rivalry from spiraling into systemic crisis.

Sun Chenghao, a senior fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University, said the new positioning is more realistic and its breakthrough lies in the fact that it neither denies competition nor lets competition define everything, instead it emphasizes bottom lines while preserving space for cooperation.

He went on explaining that the core point of the new positioning is to acknowledge the existence of China-US competition, while making it clear that such competition must have boundaries, rules and be manageable.

"It is not simply a return to the old 'engagement' logic, nor an acceptance of the 'new Cold War' narrative; rather, it seeks a more realistic and resilient framework for China-US relations under the current complex circumstances." 

A way to co-exist

Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, said the new positioning provides a proper way for China and the US to co-exist.

The new approach places cooperation at the core of China–US relations, emphasizes that competition between the two is inevitable, but stresses that such competition should be constructive, said Wu, adding that it also acknowledges that differences will continue to exist in many areas, and while these differences cannot be resolved in the short term, they can be well managed to prevent them from escalating into crises or even conflicts.

Wu stressed that most importantly, China and the US must maintain a peaceful relationship.

To make sure the new position endures test, Wu stressed the importance of building a series of work mechanisms to promote cooperation, regulate competition, manage differences and maintain peace between China and the US.

Noting China and the US can establish a series of dialogue, working and exchange mechanisms in fields including economy and trade, diplomacy, culture and security, Wu said institutionalizing China-US relations is an important structural guarantee for the stable and long-term development of the bilateral relationship.

Significance for regional peace and global economy

The significance of the new positioning of China-US relations goes beyond bilateral relations, said Sun Taiyi, adding that if successful, it could become an important new model for how major powers co-exist in an increasingly multi-polar and interconnected world.

Sun Taiyi refuted the so-called "Thucydides Trap," which assumed that rising powers and established powers were structurally destined for confrontation, saying that what China and the US are now attempting is not to eliminate competition, but to explore whether the two major powers can compete while still maintaining strategic stability and avoiding catastrophic conflict.

Sun Chenghao also noticed the "Thucydides Trap." Noting China proposed to overcome the trap and create a new model of major-power relations, Sun said China is essentially aiming to demonstrate that great powers can compete without confrontation, and can have differences without resorting to war.

Sun Chenghao added that the new positioning of China-US ties carries clear demonstrative significance in the current turbulent international landscape.

Regarding regional peace and stability, the stability of China-US relations itself is an important foundation for security in the Asia-Pacific, he said.

Noting the Taiwan question and issues such as the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula are closely linked to China-US interactions, Sun Chenghao said if China and the US can maintain strategic communication, it will help prevent local frictions from being misinterpreted as full-scale confrontation and provide regional countries with more stable security expectations.

Acknowledging China and the US are the world's two largest economies and their relationship directly affects trade, investment, supply chains, financial markets, and energy prices, Sun Chenghao said stability between China and the US is not just a bilateral matter, but a key condition for global economic stability.