Xi Jinping and Trump's dialogue deemed constructive and practical by Beijing
In a significant development, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone conversation on September 19, marking the first contact between the two leaders in three months. The conversation, which began at 08:00 ET, was also confirmed by the Chinese government's Xinhua News Agency.
The discussion, however, did not yield any immediate announcements or agreements. The Chinese government has emphasised its commitment to ensuring a balance of interests in any commercial negotiations and respecting the efforts of enterprises to engage in commercial negotiations based on market rules.
The Chinese side also urged the U.S. to refrain from imposing unilateral restrictive measures in trade, a reference to the ongoing U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. No specific details about the content of the phone conversation were provided, but Beijing did state that nations can achieve common positive outcomes and benefit each other.
The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has expressed concerns about the issues between the nations, stating that they could harm the world, as it would pit the economies of the two largest countries against each other. The next meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump is expected to take place in autumn 2020 at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.
U.S.-China relations have been politically unstable since Trump's presidency began, with tensions escalating over trade disputes and geopolitical issues. The Chinese government welcomes enterprises to negotiate as long as the solutions comply with Chinese laws and regulations. Despite the lack of concrete outcomes from the latest phone conversation, both sides appear to be keen on maintaining dialogue and working towards a resolution.
