Editor's note: Matteo Giovannini, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a finance professional at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a non-resident associate fellow at the Center for China and Globalization and a member of the Global Young Leaders Dialogue. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Washington has sent an important message about the future direction of China-US relations. Rather than seeking to eliminate differences between the world's two largest economies, the two leaders have placed greater emphasis on expanding cooperation, managing competition and keeping disagreements under control.

Presidents Xi and Trump reviewed the progress made in bilateral relations and exchanged views on economic and trade ties, artificial intelligence, the Taiwan question and major international and regional issues. The two leaders also confirmed that China and the United States will mutually support the successful holding of the 2026 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and the G20 Summit.

The most immediate development is economic and trade cooperation. Xi stressed that the economic and trade teams of the two countries held a new round of consultations and reached a new joint arrangement, which is good news for industries and people of both countries, as well as the global economy. This is significant because economic and trade relations remain one of the most important pillars of the bilateral relationship.

The two countries have substantial differences, but their economies remain deeply connected through trade, investment, manufacturing and global supply chains. The latest arrangement therefore matters not only for China and the United States, but also for businesses and markets around the world. Greater predictability in the world's two largest economies can help companies make longer-term investment and supply-chain decisions while reducing uncertainty generated by repeated trade disputes.

Xi's formulation provides an especially useful way of understanding the significance of the new arrangement. He said that "a stable China-US economic and trade relationship requires both expanding the list of cooperation, and shortening the list of problems." This approach recognizes that not every disagreement can be resolved immediately, while emphasizing that the overall relationship can nevertheless continue to move forward. In this respect, the latest economic and trade understanding can be viewed as part of a broader effort to create greater stability rather than as an attempt to settle every outstanding dispute at once.

Artificial intelligence (AI) emerged as another important area of potential cooperation. Xi noted that China and the United States are both major powers in AI and argued that although the two sides compete, they have even more opportunities for cooperation. He proposed continued dialogue on AI, including discussions of its risks and benefits and cooperation to prevent its misuse and abuse. This could become an increasingly important component of the bilateral relationship because AI is simultaneously an area of technological competition and a field with potentially enormous global consequences.

Trump, who described Xi's visit as a great visit, said the two countries should continue dialogue on economic and trade issues and expressed support for cooperation on AI. Maintaining channels for communication could therefore help both sides address common risks while allowing each to pursue its own technological strengths.

The Taiwan question remains an important area where differences persist. The Chinese president reiterated China's position on safeguarding national unity and territorial integrity and called on the United States to maintain its position opposing "Taiwan independence" and handle it prudently. Its inclusion in the leaders' discussion underlines that major strategic differences remain part of the bilateral relationship even as the two sides pursue greater economic cooperation.

This makes the meeting's emphasis on strategic stability particularly important. Xi recalled that he and Trump had agreed in May to build a "constructive strategic stability relationship" between China and the United States, arguing that this positioning reflects the reality of bilateral relations and provides a framework for finding an appropriate way for the two major countries to coexist.

That formulation is important because it moves the discussion beyond the traditional choice between cooperation and confrontation. The two countries can compete in some areas while cooperating in others. They can disagree on sensitive issues while maintaining high-level communication. And they can seek to prevent individual disputes from destabilizing the entire relationship.

The leaders also discussed the Middle East, the Ukraine crisis and the Korean Peninsula, demonstrating that the scope of China-US relations extends well beyond bilateral economic issues. Their decision to support each other's hosting of the 2026 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and G20 Leaders' Summit provides another opportunity for the two countries to cooperate through multilateral platforms.

At a time when the global economy is facing significant uncertainty, continued communication between Beijing and Washington can have implications well beyond their bilateral relationship, particularly for trade, investment, supply chains and international economic governance.

Ultimately, the importance of the Washington meeting will be measured not simply by the atmosphere surrounding the leaders' encounter, but by implementation. The latest outcome does not remove the structural differences between China and the United States, nor does it suggest that competition between the two major powers has disappeared. Instead, it offers a more pragmatic proposition: Competition can be managed, differences can remain controlled and cooperation can continue to expand where interests overlap. That may be the most important message from Xi's US visit.

If the new economic and trade arrangement is implemented effectively, AI dialogue is sustained, strategic communication remains open and cooperation continues through international institutions, the meeting could provide a stronger foundation for the constructive strategic stability envisioned by the two leaders. For China and the United States, this would mean a relationship that is not defined by the absence of differences, but by the ability to manage those differences while continuing to identify areas where cooperation serves both sides. For the wider global economy, that greater predictability would be welcome news.

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