Commentary: Translate San Francisco vision into concrete actions

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden take a walk after their talks in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California, Nov. 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

As a lesson borne out by both history and reality, when the two countries join forces, the global community reaps the rewards; but when they are at loggerheads, the whole world bears the brunt.

BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- As the global community was fretting over the escalating strain in China-U.S. ties, the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, in San Francisco has raised hopes of a detente in this pivotal bilateral relationship.

The momentous summit marks the Chinese president's return to the United States after a six-year hiatus, and also the first face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state since the Bali summit last November.

When Xi and Biden smiled at each other and shook hands under a global gaze, the world breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, it is proven that cooperation is the only right choice for the two countries to get along.

During the summit, the two leaders engaged in candid exchanges of views on matters that wield substantial sway over bilateral relations, as well as issues concerning global peace and development, charting the course for the colossal vessel of China-U.S. relations as it steers ahead.

Amidst the exquisite scenery of the Filoli Estate on the outskirts of San Francisco, Xi urged both nations to build five pillars that would fortify their relationship, namely jointly developing a right perception, jointly managing disagreements effectively, jointly advancing mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly shouldering responsibilities as major countries, and jointly promoting people-to-people exchanges.

A journalist walks past a poster at the APEC 2023 International Media Center in San Francisco, the United States, on Nov. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

During his stay, Xi reminisced about his first trip to the United States in 1985 on multiple occasions, and held special meetings with American friends from various walks of life. He emphasized that "it is the reaching out to each other by our peoples that has time and again brought China-U.S. relations from a low ebb back onto the right track," and put forward concrete measures to facilitate civil connections between the two sides.

The summit has also paved the way for the two countries to reach more than 20 common understandings in such fields as political, diplomatic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, global governance, military and security, generating fresh impetus for bringing bilateral ties back on the right track.

To build on the outcomes of the San Francisco summit, both countries must take a page from the past. Over the past years, the China-U.S. relationship has encountered headwinds and suffered setbacks. The crux lies in the United States' failure to find the right answer to whether China is an adversary or a partner, resulting in China being misjudged as a rival, a challenge and even a threat.

China and the United States, as the world's largest developing and developed countries, are highly complementary in their economies, with extensive opportunities for cooperation in areas such as trade, energy, technology, education, and culture.

As a lesson borne out by both history and reality, when the two countries join forces, the global community reaps the rewards; but when they are at loggerheads, the whole world bears the brunt.

As the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, it is incumbent upon China and the United States to stand out as global heavyweights, taking the lead as key players on the world stage, and collaborating to overcome global challenges and enhance the well-being of all humanity.

To this end, China and the United States should forge ahead on a new journey from San Francisco, pursuing sound interactions and viewing each other as partners.

The San Francisco summit has set the course for China-U.S. relations, the major-country ties most consequential to the future of the world. The matter of first-rate importance now is concerted effort and collaborative action from both sides to translate the San Francisco vision into actual policies and concrete steps to ensure a stable and sound relationship.