CGTN Poll: Why 'constructive strategic stability' matters for China-US relations

Editor's Note: Zhao Minghao is a professor and deputy director of the Center for American Studies, Fudan University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily represents the views of CGTN.

At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the United States from September 23 to 25. The visit comes as the two sides seek to advance a relationship of "constructive strategic stability."

"Constructive strategic stability" encompasses positive stability centered on cooperation, sound stability with restrained competition, normal stability with manageable differences, and enduring stability promising peace. 

A survey conducted by CGTN of 12,000 respondents across 39 countries worldwide shows that 75% of the respondents believe a stable China-US relationship is vital to the international community. The figure rises to 78.3% in developing countries, while 76.7% of the US respondents share this view. It suggests broad support for dialogue and stability as the two countries navigate differences over trade, technology, security and other issues.

A stable China-US relationship helps inject greater certainty into world peace. This meeting between the two heads of state bears on the well-being of the two peoples, as well as global development and prosperity.

First, the meeting between the Chinese and US heads of state will provide strategic guidance for "constructive strategic stability." 

China and the United States differ in systems, development paths and interest pursuits. Disagreements are nothing unusual. But what matters is whether the two sides can avoid miscalculations and manage conflicts through equal-footed dialogue. In the survey, 78.6% of the global respondents believed that China and the United States should strengthen dialogue on the basis of mutual respect, and 78.3% of the US respondents shared this view. The findings indicate broad support in the United States for dialogue as a means of managing complex bilateral relations. Rejecting the flawed logic that reduces China-US relations one-sidedly to "strategic competition," constructive strategic stability offers a positive response to the fundamental question of whether China and the US are rivals or partners.

Second, this head-of-state meeting could help translate more consensus into concrete outcomes and inject stable confidence into mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

According to the CGTN survey, 67.9% of the global respondents believe China and the US can achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, and economic and trade frictions are not irreconcilable. 74.6% of the respondents believe that China-US trade is essentially mutually beneficial. It is worth noting that the US respondents register even higher approval rates for these two statements, at 72.8% and 75.3% respectively, above the global average. 

In fact, China and the US enjoy bright prospects for cooperation in agricultural products, energy, manufacturing, finance, technology and services. Of the global respondents, 77.9% agree that "economic and trade relations should serve as a stabilizer rather than a source of conflict in China-US relations," with the approval rate hitting 81.5% among the respondents from developing countries and 76.4% in the United States. 

The more stable economic and trade links are, the less room there will be for misunderstanding and confrontation. The more fruitful cooperation is, the stronger public confidence in peaceful coexistence between the two nations will grow.

Third, the international community expects the Chinese and US head-of-state meeting to deliver "dividends" for world peace and development. 

A stable China-US relationship is in itself the greatest contribution to global peace and development. At present, the world is confronted with common challenges including regional conflicts, sluggish economic recovery, climate change and artificial intelligence governance. If China and the United States uphold peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, they can create more favorable conditions for addressing global issues. 

A constructive and strategically stable China-US relationship is a precious global public good provided jointly by China and the United States. It will profoundly shape the evolution of the global power landscape and the direction of the future international order, acting as a key force bearing on global peace, stability, development, cooperation and governance.

The Earth is big enough for China and the United States to achieve common development and respective prosperity. The Washington meeting between the two heads of state is a valuable "positive development" for the world. 

Stable China-US relations enjoy solid public support, and mutually beneficial cooperation responds to genuine and lasting practical needs. While this meeting may not resolve all issues, it can serve as a new starting point to rebuild trust, consolidate cooperation and prevent confrontation from escalating. Looking ahead, China and the United States should inject new impetus into bilateral relations with greater wisdom and confidence, and add certainty to world peace and development.

The survey was conducted online using an established sample pan, covering 12,000 respondents across 39 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, as well as representative developing countries, including South Africa and Brazil. All the respondents were members of the general public aged 18 and above, and the samples were aligned with the age and gender distributions reported in each country's census.