Where can China and US find room for cooperation amid competition?

As Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to pay a state visit to the United States from September 23 to 25, experts say the coexistence of competition and cooperation highlights the complexity of China-US relations and leaves room for the two sides to expand practical cooperation.

Where can Beijing and Washington find more areas of common ground? And how can cooperation in fields such as artificial intelligence, trade, climate change and people-to-people exchanges help build mutual trust?

CGTN posed these questions to Hu Bo, director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative and a research fellow at the School of International Studies, Peking University; Wang Honggang, director of the Institute of Peaceful Development at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; and Zhang Tengjun, associate research fellow at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Hu Bo: Competition and cooperation existing side by side will be a normal feature of China-US relations in the future.

Wang Honggang: Competition and cooperation are normal features of relations between major powers. The coexistence of competition and cooperation reflects both the basic characteristics of major-power relations and the particular importance of China and the United States.      

China-US competition has not yet fully unfolded in areas such as finance and the military, while there is still considerable room for cooperation on issues including global governance. This means that both competition and cooperation could become broader and deeper in the future, leaving considerable room for the choices made by the two sides.

The task is therefore to expand the list of areas for cooperation while putting boundaries and safeguards around competition, so that differences remain manageable and peaceful coexistence can be sustained.

Zhang Tengjun: The coexistence of cooperation and competition reflects the combination of deeply intertwined interests and long-term structural differences in China-US relations. It also shows that cooperation and competition are not mutually exclusive.

Areas such as counternarcotics, fugitive repatriation and combating telecom fraud are relatively low-sensitivity issues in international public governance. The two countries have clear shared interests and practical needs in law enforcement cooperation, making progress comparatively easier.

By contrast, tensions in technology and geopolitics reflect differences in strategic perceptions and national security policies. From the Chinese perspective, the US approach of broadly applying national security considerations and export controls has contributed to these tensions.

Hu Bo: Youth and people-to-people exchanges are important ways to promote mutual understanding between China and the United States. When young Americans visit China in person and experience different aspects of Chinese society, it can help them develop a more objective understanding of the country.

Zhang Tengjun: President Xi has pointed out that the future of China-US relations lies in young people. Youth and people-to-people exchanges are therefore a foundational undertaking for the long-term development of bilateral relations.

The initiative of inviting young Americans to China has enabled young people from the US to visit different parts of China and see a real, multidimensional and developing country for themselves. They can experience China's social development and cultural heritage firsthand.

The value of people-to-people exchanges does not lie simply in how many cooperation projects they produce in the short term. More importantly, such exchanges can foster understanding and respect among younger generations in both countries, allowing more Americans to move from "hearing about China" to "seeing China."

Young people tend to have fewer preconceived notions and can more easily build personal connections. Friendships established between young people in China and the United States could provide a broader social foundation for bilateral relations over the coming decades and create more opportunities for cooperation across different fields.

Wang Honggang: Trade remains fundamental, and its importance should not be underestimated.

There is competition between China and the United States in advanced manufacturing, but artificial intelligence could be the biggest variable, the biggest source of disruption and also the biggest area of opportunity in the relationship.

Looking at the long term and from a global perspective, AI will inevitably become one of the most important issues in China-US relations.

If the two countries can establish effective dialogue and cooperation on AI governance, it could become a significant example of China-US cooperation benefiting both countries and the wider world.

The two sides have already agreed to establish government-to-government dialogue on AI. This is a good starting point. They should move quickly to exchange views, establish mechanisms and frameworks, identify key topics and gradually bring relevant stakeholders into deeper discussions.

This is one of the most important tasks for building mutual trust.

Zhang Tengjun: Three areas stand out.

First is global AI governance. As two major AI powers, China and the United States share responsibilities in areas such as safety standards and risk management. The government-to-government dialogue on AI provides a good starting point.

Second is climate change and the green economy. Cooperation in areas such as new energy and clean technologies can serve the interests of both countries while also benefiting the wider world.

Third are relatively low-sensitivity areas such as counternarcotics, agriculture and public health. These fields can produce tangible results relatively quickly and have a stronger basis for public support, making them suitable for building trust step by step.

Advanced manufacturing and trade can also provide opportunities for cooperation, but this would require the United States to move away from restrictive approaches such as the "small yard, high fence" policy and return to market principles and fair competition.