China and the United States should seek more common ground and avoid strategic misjudgment, the state-run People’s Daily said on Sunday, in an apparent call to the coming Trump administration to deepen engagement.
The editorial in the Communist Party mouthpiece came two days after a phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US president-elect Donald Trump, and just ahead of his inauguration on Monday. The South China Morning Post will feature a live blog of the ceremony in Washington.
In mapping the way forward for the two countries, the People’s Daily mentioned the “ice-breaking” in the 1970s, when shared interests acted as “the strongest adhesive”.
In 1972, then US president Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China signalled a major step forward in relations after decades of isolation for Beijing. Both countries recognised the need to counterbalance the Soviet Union in the Cold War and saw potential for shared economic interests.
“The river of history flows ceaselessly, and often the crucial moments come down to just a few steps,” Sunday’s article said, as it sought to set the tone for four more years of Trump.
According to the editorial, US-China relations have evolved into a “community of intertwined interests” in the nearly five decades since diplomatic ties were established in 1979.
“Some of the issues in China-US relations are growing pains brought about by the deep integration of both sides’ interests. These growing pains need to be resolved through continued growth, rather than leading to incorrect strategic perceptions,” the article said.
“China and the United States [should] grasp and handle bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, which will bring more certainty to a turbulent world.”
Xi and Trump spoke over the phone on Friday, in talks described by the American leader as a “very good one” for both China and the US.
According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi said they both attached “great importance to mutual interactions” and hoped “for a good start of the China-US relationship” during Trump’s second term.
They also agreed to set up strategic channels of communication and maintain regular contact, which the People’s Daily said had instilled confidence about promoting “a smooth transition and a positive start” in relations.
Beijing’s official readout of the phone call also quoted Trump as saying that he was looking forward to meeting Xi “as soon as possible”.
Trump also expressed interest in visiting China in his first 100 days in office, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021, was marked by frequent anti-China rhetoric and a bruising trade war with the rival economy.
His new term begins amid all-out US-China competition, from trade and technology to national security issues. In the latest development, Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok was forced to suspend its services in the US a day before Trump’s inauguration.
Trump has also threatened huge extra tariffs on Chinese imports and alleged security risks posed by China, while his cabinet of mainly China hawks has increased uncertainties about the relationship with Beijing.
At the same time, Trump said earlier this month that Xi and he would “probably get along very well” and was also reported to have invited him to his inauguration, though the Chinese leader will not be attending.
Last week, Beijing said Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng would attend Trump’s inauguration as a special envoy from Xi – the first time such a senior Chinese leader will be present at the ceremony.
Beijing earlier said the two sides had “maintained communication through various means”.
The People’s Daily article sounded a positive note. “Under the current international situation, the common interests between China and the United States are not decreasing, but increasing,” it said.
“Both countries should properly handle differences with foresight and perseverance, seeking common ground while reserving differences, so as to lay a solid foundation for bilateral relations.”
Annual two-way trade has crossed US$660 billion, Yuyuan Tantian – a social media channel affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV – said on Saturday. More than 70,000 US companies made profits of US$50 billion each year, while US exports to China supported 930,000 American jobs, it added.
The People’s Daily also called on both sides to respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, citing Xi’s recent messages to Trump urging him to handle the Taiwan issue with “great caution”.
Properly managing differences and boosting cooperation would bring more certainty to an unstable world, and public opinion in both countries strongly supported this approach, the article added.
Shi Yinhong, a professor of International Relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said it was still too early to predict whether relations could improve under Trump, and whether a meeting between the two leaders could substantially lift ties after several fractious years.
“The rivalry between the two countries is much stronger, decisive, and structural than a so-called summit [between Xi and Trump],” Shi said.
Regarding TikTok’s suspension of US services, Shi said it remained to be seen how Trump would handle the situation, given his “changeable” character, although Trump said he was “most likely” to grant TikTok a 90-day reprieve after taking office.
The platform used by 170 million Americans suspended services in the US on Sunday, Beijing time, after the US Supreme Court backed a law requiring the app to sever ties with its Chinese parent, ByteDance, or face a ban.
Trump has vowed to address the issue through “political means” in an effort to “save” TikTok.
