Editorial: China-US Consensus on 8 Outcomes Sends a Major Signal
Editor’s Note: The consensus on eight outcomes reached by the Chinese and U.S. presidents adds more substance to the new characterization of China-U.S. relations. It opens new space for future cooperation, builds new bridges for friendly exchanges between the two countries and sends a positive signal that the two major countries can move toward each other, coexist peacefully and achieve mutual benefit.
President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Sept. 26 after concluding his state visit to the United States. Chinese and overseas media gave the visit prominent front-page coverage and generally described it as of historic and landmark significance. During the visit, the Chinese and U.S. presidents reached a consensus on eight outcomes. That consensus further added substance to the new characterization of China-U.S. relations, opened new room for cooperation and sent a positive signal that the two countries are prepared to move toward each other, coexist peacefully and pursue mutual benefit.
A key political outcome of the visit was the two sides’ agreement to build “a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability on the basis of respect, fairness, and reciprocity.” The three principles give the two countries clearer strategic guidance as they explore how major powers should deal with one another.
Respect means respecting each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, each other’s chosen social systems and development paths, and each other’s core interests and major concerns. Fairness means pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation and resolving differences through consultation. It means rejecting zero-sum games in which one side wins and the other loses and not seeking an absolute unilateral advantage. Reciprocity means that the two countries are sovereign equals, neither superior nor inferior to the other. Neither should act high-handedly or bully the other. They should address their respective concerns on an equal footing and promote balanced cooperation in all fields. This is in the fundamental interests of both peoples and meets the expectations of the international community.
As China has repeatedly stressed, China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and will both lose in confrontation. The consensus on eight outcomes has created new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, the control of narcotics and other areas. These include an arrangement for a $30 billion reciprocal tariff reduction, the joint cracking of multiple cases involving new psychoactive substances and substances used to manufacture drugs, and the inclusion of visible outcomes from cooperation between Chinese and U.S. anti-narcotics law enforcement agencies in the agreed outcomes. China and the United States have shown that cooperation can accomplish major and worthwhile things.
A constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability can continue to yield substantive results through concrete mechanisms and joint efforts. The two countries should, and can, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results through practical cooperation; help each other succeed through healthy competition; properly manage differences by seeking common ground while respecting differences; and build peace by fostering mutual trust. The visit’s important results will better benefit the peoples of both countries and people around the world.
China and the United States are separated by the Pacific Ocean, but the two peoples have a long history of friendly exchanges. They fought side by side during World War II. Yin Yuzhen, a Chinese desertification fighter, has reunited in China with her American friend Ronald Sakolsky after more than two decades apart. China will invite 100,000 young Americans to visit China for exchange and study over the next five years. The giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang have arrived at Zoo Atlanta. These developments again show that people-to-people ties give China-U.S. relations solid strength and lasting momentum. As President Xi has emphasized, the hope of China-U.S. relations lies in the people, their foundation lies among the people, their future lies with the young, and their vitality lies at the local level.
The international situation is turbulent and unsettled, making the global importance of China-U.S. relations even more evident. During the visit, the two presidents exchanged in-depth views on major international and regional issues of common concern and agreed to strengthen coordination and contribute to world peace and development.
China’s objective and fair position on the Middle East has earned broad praise internationally. On the international order, the two presidents recalled that China and the United States were allies during World War II and fought side by side to win the war. This sent an important signal that the two countries would consolidate their shared understanding of history, uphold the postwar international order and prevent the resurgence of militarism. The two sides also agreed to support each other in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The agreement reflects their desire to strengthen coordination through multilateral mechanisms and promote stability and development.
The consensus on eight outcomes is historic. It implements and expands on the results of the Beijing meeting in May, while setting out both a strategic framework and concrete outcomes for China and the United States as they explore the right way for major powers to get along. Yet consensus must be supported by action. Whether the United States will honor its commitments on tariffs, technology controls and the Taiwan question remains to be seen. Officials and institutions in both countries, across all fields and at every level, must follow through on the important understandings reached by the two presidents with a “nail-driving” spirit. The vision of “cooperation as the mainstay, moderate competition, manageable differences, and promises of peace” must steadily become reality, opening a brighter future for China-U.S. relations.
President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Sept. 26 after concluding his state visit to the United States. Chinese and overseas media gave the visit prominent front-page coverage and generally described it as of historic and landmark significance. During the visit, the Chinese and U.S. presidents reached a consensus on eight outcomes. That consensus further added substance to the new characterization of China-U.S. relations, opened new room for cooperation and sent a positive signal that the two countries are prepared to move toward each other, coexist peacefully and pursue mutual benefit.
A key political outcome of the visit was the two sides’ agreement to build “a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability on the basis of respect, fairness, and reciprocity.” The three principles give the two countries clearer strategic guidance as they explore how major powers should deal with one another.
Respect means respecting each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, each other’s chosen social systems and development paths, and each other’s core interests and major concerns. Fairness means pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation and resolving differences through consultation. It means rejecting zero-sum games in which one side wins and the other loses and not seeking an absolute unilateral advantage. Reciprocity means that the two countries are sovereign equals, neither superior nor inferior to the other. Neither should act high-handedly or bully the other. They should address their respective concerns on an equal footing and promote balanced cooperation in all fields. This is in the fundamental interests of both peoples and meets the expectations of the international community.
As China has repeatedly stressed, China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and will both lose in confrontation. The consensus on eight outcomes has created new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, the control of narcotics and other areas. These include an arrangement for a $30 billion reciprocal tariff reduction, the joint cracking of multiple cases involving new psychoactive substances and substances used to manufacture drugs, and the inclusion of visible outcomes from cooperation between Chinese and U.S. anti-narcotics law enforcement agencies in the agreed outcomes. China and the United States have shown that cooperation can accomplish major and worthwhile things.
A constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability can continue to yield substantive results through concrete mechanisms and joint efforts. The two countries should, and can, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results through practical cooperation; help each other succeed through healthy competition; properly manage differences by seeking common ground while respecting differences; and build peace by fostering mutual trust. The visit’s important results will better benefit the peoples of both countries and people around the world.
China and the United States are separated by the Pacific Ocean, but the two peoples have a long history of friendly exchanges. They fought side by side during World War II. Yin Yuzhen, a Chinese desertification fighter, has reunited in China with her American friend Ronald Sakolsky after more than two decades apart. China will invite 100,000 young Americans to visit China for exchange and study over the next five years. The giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang have arrived at Zoo Atlanta. These developments again show that people-to-people ties give China-U.S. relations solid strength and lasting momentum. As President Xi has emphasized, the hope of China-U.S. relations lies in the people, their foundation lies among the people, their future lies with the young, and their vitality lies at the local level.
The international situation is turbulent and unsettled, making the global importance of China-U.S. relations even more evident. During the visit, the two presidents exchanged in-depth views on major international and regional issues of common concern and agreed to strengthen coordination and contribute to world peace and development.
China’s objective and fair position on the Middle East has earned broad praise internationally. On the international order, the two presidents recalled that China and the United States were allies during World War II and fought side by side to win the war. This sent an important signal that the two countries would consolidate their shared understanding of history, uphold the postwar international order and prevent the resurgence of militarism. The two sides also agreed to support each other in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The agreement reflects their desire to strengthen coordination through multilateral mechanisms and promote stability and development.
The consensus on eight outcomes is historic. It implements and expands on the results of the Beijing meeting in May, while setting out both a strategic framework and concrete outcomes for China and the United States as they explore the right way for major powers to get along. Yet consensus must be supported by action. Whether the United States will honor its commitments on tariffs, technology controls and the Taiwan question remains to be seen. Officials and institutions in both countries, across all fields and at every level, must follow through on the important understandings reached by the two presidents with a “nail-driving” spirit. The vision of “cooperation as the mainstay, moderate competition, manageable differences, and promises of peace” must steadily become reality, opening a brighter future for China-U.S. relations.
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