Bringing China-U.S. ties back on track good for world, experts say on Xi-Biden meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 14, 2022. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, had a candid and in-depth exchange of views in Bali, Indonesia, on Monday on issues of strategic importance in China-U.S. relations and on major global and regional issues.

With the world at a significant inflection point in history and humanity facing unprecedented challenges, bringing China-U.S. relations back on track with healthy and stable growth will benefit both countries and the world, international experts and officials told Xinhua.

POSITIVE SIGNAL

The meeting between leaders of China and the United States sends out a significant and positive signal, said Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business.

This meeting demonstrated the efforts of the two heads of state to strengthen communication and discuss and solve bilateral and major global issues together, which increased confidence and hope for promoting world peace and stability, said Lins.

It is time for President Xi and Biden to consolidate the China-U.S. relationship, said Lyazid Benhami, vice president of the Paris Association of French-Chinese Friendship.

The two sides must embark on the path of cooperation and mutual respect and bet on a peaceful and constructive China-U.S. relationship, Benhami said.

The meeting of the two heads of state came at the right moment, said Katarina Zakic, head of the center for the Belt and Road Initiative at the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Serbia.

With the world facing multiple challenges, Zakic said diplomatic dialogue is necessary.

The meeting has helped create a bridge between the two countries, said William Jones, Washington bureau chief of the U.S. publication Executive Intelligence Review.

"The U.S. must also deal with China on something of an equal basis," he said, noting that Xi has underlined that the two countries must learn from history and set the U.S.-China relationship on an upward trajectory.

The face-to-face meeting between leaders of the two countries is "hugely important" and highly positive, said Alistair Michie, secretary general of the British East Asia Council.

Michie said China's messages in international affairs are consistent, which is critical to securing consensus in bilateral relations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 14, 2022. [Xinhua/Yan Yan]

SETTING COURSE FOR CHINA-U.S. TIES

"Praise should be showered on both Xi and Biden for taking this new single step that has the hope of propelling the world forward as the 21st century unfolds, leadership matters," said Tom Watkins, advisor to the Michigan-China Innovation Center in Michigan and president and chief executive officer of TDW and Associates.

Watkins said that China-U.S. relations have mutually benefited both nations and the world in the last half-century.

The meeting between leaders of China and the United States undoubtedly plays a role of strategic guidance and reflects the great importance attached by both sides to China-U.S. relations, which is of great significance for promoting the advancement of China-U.S. relations and setting course for bilateral ties, said Kwon Ki-sik, head of the Korea-China City Friendship Association.

China has always adhered to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation in handling China-U.S. relations, which is conducive to pushing bilateral ties back on track, he said.

Patricio Giusto, director of the Sino-Argentine Observatory, spoke highly of three principles proposed by Xi regarding China-U.S. relations.

These three principles state the development path of China-U.S. relations and will push the two countries in the same direction and play an essential role in promoting world peace, stability and development, Giusto said.

Xi's position demonstrates China's utmost sincerity in promoting the healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relations, said Chen Gang, assistant director of the National University of Singapore's East Asian Institute.

As one of the most important bilateral relations in the world, the current fractured state of U.S.-China relations is not in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples and is not what the international community expects, said Fan Bo, head of the U.S.-China Partnerships organization.

The United States and China need to work together to maintain strategic communication, coordination and cooperation, said Fan, adding that principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation should play a guiding role in relations.

HEALTHY CHINA-U.S. TIES GOOD FOR WORLD

In a world confronting several challenges, the leadership of the United States and China is needed more than ever, said Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar.

He said that responsive cooperation between the two countries would benefit them and benefit humanity.

The world needs good relations between China and the United States, said Bissau-Guinean political scientist Diamantino Lopes, highlighting the role of the two heads of state in mobilizing efforts for peace.

Healthy China-U.S. relations are necessary for a healthy and wealthy future, global peace and the environment, said Volker Tschapke, honorary president of Germany's Prussian Society.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 14, 2022. [Xinhua/Ju Peng]

There should be cooperation between the two countries in addressing climate change, which will present opportunities for both sides to sit down and contribute public goods to the world, said Lucio Blanco Pitlo, research fellow at the Philippine think tank Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation.

The stable and healthy development of China-U.S. relations is crucial to maintaining the integrity of global supply chains and globalization, Pitlo said.

The vector and tone of relations between such major countries as the United States and China have the most direct impact on global stability and security, said Yana Leksyutina, a St. Petersburg State University professor.

Major countries should be guided by national interests and an interest in maintaining global stability and security, Leksyutina added.

"The world is unstable," Benhami said, adding that "the urgency is to unite for peace and for development."

China and the United States must work together to achieve peace and sustainable development for the world's benefit, he said.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.