China-US summit – A fine example of China's head-of-state diplomacy

Last week's two-day summit between Chinese and US presidents in Beijing was a fine example of China's head-of-state diplomacy—the "anchor" of its foreign policy meant as a stabilizing force to provide certainty and stability to a turbulent global landscape.

President Trump's visit to China included a nearly three-hour formal meeting between the two heads of state and their delegations at the Great Hall of the People, a welcome banquet and a Chinese philosophy-laden tour of the Temple of Heaven.

Moreover, the presidents of the world's two largest economies walked and talked while touring the Zhongnanhai leadership compound, a rare treatment afforded to visiting heads of state or government.

No doubt, US-China ties are the world's most important bilateral relationship as they impact virtually everything else, directly or implicitly, that's happening on our planet on the political, economic, cultural and scientific front.

Opening his talks with Trump, President Xi Jinping raised the question of whether China and the United States can overcome the so-called "Thucydides Trap" and create a new paradigm of major-country relations.

The relatively new term, which was created by US novelist Herman Wouk in a lecture in 1980, was popularized by US political scientist Graham Allison of Harvard University decades later. Over the past decade it has been increasingly misused by scholars and journalists to analyse China-US relations.

However, during the talks, President Xi eloquently demonstrated that as long as China and the United States uphold the spirit of mutual respect and win-win cooperation, they will certainly be able to overcome the Thucydides Trap.

The most important political outcome of the leaders' meeting is that they agreed to build a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability—a new vision for bilateral ties. This concept is a relatively new framework in Chinese diplomacy, which gained significant traction during the summit meetings. It represents an evolution from the Cold War definition of "strategic stability" which was focused on nuclear deterrence.

I expect other countries to pay close attention to the "milestone" summit, Tokyo, Brussels and certain individual EU member states in particular, and draw the right conclusions such as accepting the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and, consequently, an internal Chinese affair.

The two countries also achieved positive outcomes in economic and trade fields, including their decision to set up trade and investment councils to address their respective concerns in trade and investment cooperation. This, once again, shows that economic and commercial relations between China and the US are a two-way street that could benefit both sides in the constantly changing world of international trade.

Something that I find extremely important for the future of both countries—and for the entire world—is that they are the undisputed leaders in artificial intelligence (AI). I am convinced that AI is the most important invention in human history. It represents the most impactful industrial revolution we have been able to pull off —and we are just at the very beginning of it. Countries at the forefront of AI will shape our future in nearly every aspect I can imagine—and that is why I firmly believe that China and the US will continue to lead the world for a long time to come. This is also an area where China, the US and other AI-savvy players on the world stage should strengthen cooperation to ensure AI, the greatest tool ever invented by humans, is used without hurting those it is meant to benefit.

I am realistically optimistic that Sino-US ties have entered a new course. However, the desired relationship needs to be carefully cultivated by both sides, with mutual respect and trust being the sine qua non.

The author is an international affairs observer.