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Never before have Chinese and US presidents paid official visits to each other's countries within half a year.

That streak has ended.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping lands in Washington, D.C., and meets with US President Donald Trump, China-US relations have been imbued with special meaning for both countries. As the world's two largest economies, the stability of China-US relations has been a cornerstone not just for the prosperity of the two countries, but also for the stable development of the entire international community. When the two countries engage in conflict – economically or otherwise – the entire world pays the price. How to find a suitable path forward that benefits both China's and the US's interests has been asked time and time again over the past decade.

"We can certainly find the right path for our two great countries to get along on this planet we both call home," Xi said during his address at the arrival ceremony at the White House.

There is no easy answer to this relationship. As complicated and as different as China and the US are, there are bound to be disagreements and frictions. As Xi said, building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability is neither an expedient measure or something that can be achieved over night. The two sides should not refrain from doing a good deed because it is too small, nor commit a bad deed because it is too small. All departments, sectors and levels of both countries should all get involved, Xi said.

In a previous interview, Laura Stone, the Senior Advisor of the Albright Stonebridge Group and the former Senior Director for China Affairs at the National Security Council, said that long-term stability has to rely on a broad spectrum of stakeholders. "You have to build up a responsible relationship, a relationship that both sides feel is fair, a relationship that both sides feel is to their advantage," she said, "and you have to make sure that it's very broad in terms of stakeholders. So, you want stakeholders that are students, you want stakeholders that are business people, you want stakeholders that are ordinary citizens that feel like they get real value from the relationship. So that's going to be our opportunity and our challenge going forward."

Perhaps pandas are part of that too. As Xi announced, a pair of pandas will be arriving in Zoo Atlanta and meeting with the American people.

Hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of trade, the job security ensured by a smooth economic relationship, and the millions who travel between the two countries have been mentioned time and time again, and still remain crucial to this day.

But it is also important for the future. As the world moves clearly into the era of AI and frontier technology development, as the world's two largest innovators and leaders in the field, China and the US shoulder a special responsibility to make sure that whatever comes out of this development remains beneficial to the common development of the entire international community. As Xi said to Trump in their meeting, China and the US should maintain human control over AI technologies and ensure that AI serves human progress. Trump echoed Xi's remark and said US and China should maintain dialogue and strengthen cooperation on this issue.

Some reports on this state visit have been focusing on the banquet, Trump's greeting at the airport, or the "lack of substance," as some in the US government said.

One-dimensional reporting of the visit never gives the full picture; it only adds more fuel to the fire for those seeking to undermine this relationship. Diplomacy, especially between two countries as consequential and as complicated as China and the US, is also about keeping channels open when differences remain, making sure communication doesn't stop when disagreements surface.

The important outcomes of a relationship are often not created in a single meeting, but built gradually through repeated conversations, business ties, student exchanges, scientific cooperation, cultural connections, and so on. An official state visit sets the direction, but it is only the beginning. As Xi said, it is important to translate the new vision of constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability into action and finding the right way for the two major countries to get along with each other.

There will still be disagreements. There will still be competition. Neither should be expected to disappear. For two countries that cannot simply walk away from each other, the choice is not between having differences and having none. It is between managing those differences through dialogue and allowing them to define the entire relationship.

That's the importance. As long as the two countries keep shaking hands across the Pacific Ocean, there will be hope for the future.

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