China, US lay the groundwork for Trump’s state visit

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US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to China is widely seen as a significant milestone in bilateral ties, as the two largest economies in the world are stepping up preparation for his arrival.

Trump is expected to visit China this November, when the third meeting between the two world leaders will be held. While no exact date has been officially announced, the recent visits of senior US officials to China have attracted much attention, as the trips, including the ongoing visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, are reportedly laying the groundwork for the state visit.

The US President said on Thursday during a meeting with visiting Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong at the White House that he is looking forward to his upcoming state visit to China and meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping again. He believes the visit will be a success.

It is extremely important to strengthen people-to-people exchanges with China, he said, expressing the hope that the two sides will further expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

Liu said that Beijing welcomes Trump’s state visit to China later this year at Xi’s invitation and is willing to work with Washington to prepare for it and make it a “historic success.”

Liu also said that the two sides should conscientiously implement the consensus reached by the two presidents, expand mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, and manage and control differences, so as to ensure the relationship makes steady headway, Xinhua reported.

“We are looking forward to a very good session including a lot of American CEOs and we hope there will be some very good deliverables,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross earlier told reporters, commenting on the upcoming Trump’s visit to China.

Expectations are also high among many Chinese experts. An op-ed from China.org said that China-US relations are at a key turning point between past and future, when the two nations with the smallest gap in national strength share the closest ties yet face the most complicated differences.

Less than half a century ago, China and the US normalized diplomatic relations under the Three Joint Communiqués and the One-China Policy. By the next half century, China will have completed its “two centenary goals” of becoming a modern socialist country with the world’s largest GDP, according to China.org.

However, the changing situation will not drag the two countries into the “Thucydides Trap,” said Cui Lei, an associate researcher on US studies with China Institute of International Studies. Cui wrote in an article for Globe, a Chinese magazine under Xinhua, arguing that the two countries have established channels to deal with their differences while carrying on with dialogue, coordination, and cooperation on all fronts.

“On a deeper level, China and the US economies are highly dependent on each other. The two countries share close people-to-people ties and cultural exchanges. On international affairs, they also share a strong desire to coordinate with each other. All this will lay a sound foundation for the next 50 years for China and the US to establish a new type of major-power relationship,” Cui wrote.

Cui Liru, head of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, echoed that argument, saying that the two countries can be cautiously optimistic about the future, as both powers’ historical experiences and cultures have taught them to be pragmatic and weigh the pros and cons of major decisions and crucial moments in a rational way, Jiefang Daily reported.