Although the presidents of two of the world’s biggest economies have been in regular communication for some time now including when they physically met in Busan, South Korea last year, President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Beijing (May 14-15) was at a whole other level if for no other reason because it was the first time in nine years that a Washington commander-in-chief has set foot on Chinese soil.
When assessing occasions like this, most pundits rush to concrete results (and we will get there ourselves) but for this particular one, the symbolism deserves the first word because it communicated a far more important message than anything else. Given that both the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the United States of America (USA) had endured several years of friction in relations up to this point, the way that they carried themselves and later on treated the other party helped shed some light on where things could go if the momentum keeps up.
From the PRC side, President Xi Jiping received his American comrade hospitably before going on to show to him several intimate sites of the Chinese heritage. The activities that illustrate this fact include; a tour of the Zhongnanhai gardens (the compound where senior officials of the Communist Party of China live and work), an invitation to a state banquet, and the inspection of a guard of honour. In the middle of the walk around Zhongnanhai, Trump is quoted to have said; “I like this place. I could get used to it.”
As for the USA side of the equation, it was significant that the head of state flew to Beijing in the company of 30 business leaders representing the very top of enterprise from his country. It showed how seriously he took this moment in time. Some of the biggest names on this list are; Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla, and Space X), Tim Cook (CEO of Apple), Jensen Huang (CEO of Nvidia), Kelly Ortberg (CEO and President of Boeing), and David Solomon (CEO of Goldman Sachs). Introducing the delegation to his host, H.E. Trump referred to them as “distinguished representatives from the American business community” adding that they “all respect and value China.”
Moving on to the solid outcomes emerging from the visit, the most outstanding of them is what has consequently come to be referred to as the “new vision” (NV). Rather than being one specific measure, NV is instead a spirit that will guide the affairs of the two nations moving forward by replacing antagonism with cordiality. The tenets of this consensus as articulated by the Chinese Foreign Ministry are; “building a constructive bilateral relationship”, promoting “steady, sound and sustainable development”, and bringing “more peace, prosperity and progress to the world.”
Importantly, NV is not just a vague framework hushed out to present something to the media. It is instead an attempt at building a much needed foundation. Given the controversy that has characterized Sino-US affairs for almost the past decade, it would be unrealistic to expect that cooperation would emerge just out of the blue. It is also further assuring that there are already plans to help ensure that once the scene has been set, the real work begins. President Xi has therefore already agreed to travel to Washington in four months’ time. Wang Yi, the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China has equally affirmed that both Beijing and US are set to jointly embark on correspondence aimed at revitalizing trade. Among other things, this arrangement will include reciprocal reductions of the tariffs that either country presently has imposed on the other.
What President trump’s delegation has done then is open up the possibility of what China has always emphasized in her relations with other nations i.e., win-win cooperation. In a January speech at the World Economic Forum for instance, the Vice-Premier of China, He Lifeng addressed those in attendance emphasizing that his country always sought to foster “common prosperity with its trading partners through its own development, and making the pie bigger for the global economy and trade.” Though being a perspective that is in sharp contrast of what the republican government has advocated for since ascending to power, it is something which if they have revised their thinking about could change the lives of the peoples of the two nations forever.
The author is a lawyer and a Research Fellow at the Development Watch Centre.
