Expert: Xi-Trump summit, a crucial test of 'constructive strategic stability'

Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington and his meeting with US President Donald Trump have drawn global attention, with the two sides agreeing to add new substance to their vision of building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability.

Biljana Vankovska, a political scientist, international relations expert and media commentator, as well as executive director of North Macedonia's think tank Synegia Orbi: The Institute for Global Analysis, said the meeting should be viewed not only in terms of its immediate results, but also as an important test of whether the two countries can manage differences and prevent competition from escalating into confrontation.

For Vankovska, the essence of "constructive strategic stability" lies not in eliminating competition or preserving the status quo, but in preventing differences from escalating into confrontation.

The formula, she noted, contains "the wisdom of not allowing the boat to rock more than is inevitable, of managing crises step by step, issue by issue, or at least maintaining communication – because the alternative is apocalyptic."

She said the concept means that the two sides should recognize their differences and potential points of conflict while continuing to work "continuously (and constructively)" to avoid an outcome in which one side suffers a major defeat.

"Stability (in this formula) does not mean permanence and immutability of the present state of affairs," Vankovska noted, but rather "careful resolution of problems through the building of relations in which there are neither winners nor humiliated losers."

According to Vankovska, the significance of China-US relations "transcends the usual bilateral framework of two powers." As the world's two major economies, China and the United States have many areas in which their interests are intertwined, even as significant differences remain. In a world marked by growing uncertainty and interdependence, communication between Beijing and Washington therefore has implications well beyond the two countries.

"Coexistence and communication are most important when the world is facing a deep crisis and needs to find a way out," she said, arguing that even when major differences exist, sustained dialogue is essential to avoid miscalculation and escalation.

Vankovska also noted that the summit sends a message to third countries that maintaining communication, trade and cooperation with China does not require them to choose sides in major-power competition. "Washington may be the most important stop on that journey, but it is neither the alpha nor the omega," she said, pointing to China's broader engagement through multilateral and bilateral diplomacy.

Vankovska said major issues between China and the United States cannot be resolved through one or two high-level meetings. What matters is whether the two sides can maintain "normal, pragmatic and constructive" communication and establish more stable channels for dialogue.

She said the effort to institutionalize communication in areas such as trade and investment, as well as proposals for mechanisms to prevent incidents in emerging fields such as AI, could help reduce risks arising from miscalculation.

At the same time, she stressed that while some differences can be managed through dialogue, certain issues touch on China's core interests and are not negotiable. On the Taiwan question, she said, "Taiwan is not a subject for negotiations with third parties, but an internal matter" for China.

"The fact that the two presidents are already communicating in a decent and quite constructive manner," Vankovska said, "is a great achievement" in maintaining stability and keeping channels open for further engagement.

"Constructive strategic stability" should therefore be understood as an ongoing process rather than a finished outcome, with the expert stressing that "the real test is yet to come."