GT: What Presidednt Trump's visit means for China - US relations. 28-05-2026: ****************

OPINION / VIEWPOINT What President Trump's visit means for China-US relations By Shao Xia Published: May 28, 2026 06:54 PM Illustration: Liu Rui/GT Illustration: Liu Rui/GT US President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing, the first by an American president in nine years, has put the China-US relationship into the global spotlight. The summit did not produce dramatic breakthroughs or sweeping declarations. What it did produce was more important: a commitment to managing differences through dialogue. When many worry that the two largest economies will collide, the message carries special significance. In a challenging global environment, no bilateral relationship carries more weight than that between China and the US. Their combined economic output, political reach, and global influence mean that their relationship is not merely bilateral - it is a critical variable for world peace, global growth, supply chain stability and effective global governance. When they cooperate, the world has less to worry about. When they clash, everyone feels the tremors. The summit sent a simple but essential signal: Both sides recognize that keeping this relationship stable is a shared priority. As renowned American China expert Robert Lawrence Kuhn put it, the handshake between the two leaders is the "hard currency" the global market needs most. The most iconic outcome of the visit was a new framing for bilateral ties: the agreement to pursue a "constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability." The Chinese readout explained in detail - "Constructive strategic stability" means positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, healthy stability with competition within proper limits, constant stability with manageable differences, and lasting stability with expectable peace. The phrase is dense, but the idea is straightforward. Neither side expects the other to change its fundamental character. Competition will continue. But both have agreed to try to keep it within bounds, and away from conflict. Economic and trade relations remain a pillar. The presence of 17 American CEOs on Trump's delegation was not accidental. Business leaders understand what political rhetoric sometimes obscures: The US and Chinese economies are deeply intertwined, and decoupling is far easier said than done. As Apple CEO Tim Cook remarked during the visit, "A single tree does not make a forest; together, I believe we can plant that forest." Pragmatic cooperation continues in expanded areas. In technology, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's last-minute boarding of Air Force One underscored a simple reality: There remains a keen interest in cooperation. Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory, which sources 95 percent of its components locally, continues to serve as a working model of mutual benefit. People-to-people exchanges are also robust, with over 50,000 American students visiting China in just two and a half years - completing the "50,000 in five years" initiative in half the scheduled time. On Taiwan question, China made clear that "Taiwan independence" and cross-Straits peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. "We're not looking to have somebody say, 'Let's go independent because the United States is backing us,'" Trump said in an interview following his state visit to China. Whether words will be consistently matched by actions remains to be seen - but the fact that the issue was addressed directly, without derailing the broader dialogue, is noteworthy in itself. Global challenges are receiving joint attention. The world expects both countries to defuse hotspots and tackle challenges together, rather than letting "the grass suffer while the elephants fight," as an old African proverb says. Amid the risks of AI governance, both countries can leverage their strengths to make the AI a force for good. As both countries prepare to host major international summits this year (APEC and the G20), they have a genuine opportunity to deliver tangible benefits for developing and developed countries alike. The summit took place at a moment when both countries are at critical junctures. China is launching its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), focused on domestic reforms, industrial upgrading and the development of new quality productive forces. A stable external environment is essential for these transitions to succeed. The US, approaching its 250th anniversary, has a full domestic agenda that will benefit from Chinese cooperation rather than confrontation. There is a broader point here as well. For years, the "Thucydides Trap" - the fatalistic idea that a rising power and an established one are destined for war - has loomed over discussions of China-US relations. The China-US leaders' summit offered a quiet but meaningful reminder: That trap is not an iron law of history. Human agency still matters. And in the summit in Beijing, the two presidents made the right move. The China-US leaders' summit was never about solving every problem overnight. It was about proving that problems can be discussed - and that, in a spirit of respect and mutual benefit, this monumental relationship can be stabilized. For both nations, and for a world that is closely watching their interaction, that is a good foundation to build on. The author is a commentator on international affairs, writing regularly for Xinhua News, Global Times, China Daily, CGTN. He can be reached at shaoxia2019@163.com.

NEO: Xi's Taiwan Masterstroke: Beijing's Peace Offensive Reshapes the Strait: Adrian Korczynski: 21-04-2026: **********

 

Politics

Xi’s Taiwan Masterstroke: Beijing’s Peace Offensive Reshapes the Strait

Adrian Korczyński, April 21, 2026

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Taiwanese Kuomintang Party leader Cheng Li-wun met in Beijing. This visit could mark a turning point in China’s relations with the island and ease tensions between them.

A Signal in Plain Sight

On 10 April 2026, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi Jinping received Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT). What appeared on the surface as a routine inter-party meeting was, in reality, a calculated strategic masterstroke — one that sends ripples far beyond the Taiwan Strait.

While Washington remains entangled in multiple crises and its China policy drifts between ambiguity and provocation, Beijing is playing a far more sophisticated game: directly engaging pragmatic forces inside Taiwan itself. By reopening high-level channels with the island’s main opposition after a decade-long hiatus, Xi has reframed the narrative from confrontation to inevitability.

This was not mere dialogue. It was positioning — and a clear demonstration of Beijing’s long-term vision.

This meeting is no isolated event — it forms part of a broader structural shift in the emerging multipolar order

Fractures Beneath the Surface

Taiwan’s political scene has long been split between the Kuomintang and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The KMT continues to uphold the 1992 Consensus as the common political foundation for cross-Strait engagement, advocating dialogue, economic integration, and stability. The DPP, by contrast, has pushed an increasingly separatist identity agenda, backed politically and rhetorically by the United States.

Yet cracks are widening within the DPP’s rigid posture. Its confrontational approach has delivered economic uncertainty, heightened strategic risks, and growing public fatigue on the island. The KMT, meanwhile, positions itself as the voice of reason — arguing that true security and prosperity stem from engagement, not escalation or reliance on external powers.

Beijing sees this divide clearly — and is acting with precision.

The Meeting That Shifted the Tone

The substance matched the powerful symbolism of the encounter.

Xi Jinping stressed that compatriots on both sides of the Strait are “one family” who share blood ties that no one can sever. “When the family is harmonious, all things will prosper,” he declared, while delivering a firm warning: “Taiwan independence is the chief culprit undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait — we will absolutely not tolerate or condone it.” He called for joint efforts to advance peaceful development and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, reaffirming that the future of cross-Strait relations lies in the hands of the Chinese people themselves.

Cheng Li-wun described her visit as a “peace mission,” emphasizing the need for enhanced economic dialogue, mutual respect, and practical cooperation. She reaffirmed adherence to the 1992 Consensus and opposition to “Taiwan independence,” positioning the KMT as a bridge for stability rather than a tool of division.

This was a meeting grounded in shared civilizational roots and aligned strategic incentives.

Beijing’s Strategic Clarity

What emerges from the encounter is a coherent and patient doctrine. Rather than relying solely on pressure, Beijing is cultivating ties with rational, pragmatic actors on Taiwan — those willing to prioritize peace and mutual benefit over ideological confrontation. The strategy is calibrated and long-term: l

as the political foundation, isolate hardline separatist elements together with external interference, deepen economic and cultural interdependence, and allow internal dynamics on the island to gradually shift the balance.

In this framework, the KMT is not simply an opposition party — it serves as a vital conduit for cross-Strait stabilization and a channel toward eventual national reunification.

This is realpolitik at its finest: turning internal divisions into opportunities for peaceful progress.

Washington’s Waning Leverage

The timing could not be more telling.

As the United States grapples with global overstretch — including tensions surrounding Iran — its approach to Taiwan continues to oscillate between symbolic arms sales and strategic ambiguity. The result is not enhanced deterrence, but growing uncertainty and eroded credibility.

Beijing, by contrast, offers consistency: the same principled stance, the same historical framework, and the same vision of peaceful reunification.

While Washington treats Taiwan as a geopolitical pawn in its Indo-Pacific containment strategy, Beijing views the issue as an internal Chinese matter rooted in history and national rejuvenation. The DPP’s reflexive condemnation of the meeting as “betrayal” only exposes its dependence on external backing and its detachment from pragmatic realities.

A Multipolar Reality in Motion

This meeting is no isolated event — it forms part of a broader structural shift in the emerging multipolar order.

In today’s world, influence flows not only from military alliances or sanctions, but from strategic patience, economic interdependence, and direct political engagement. By bypassing Washington’s intermediaries and speaking directly to forces within Taiwan, Beijing demonstrates that the future of the Strait will be decided by the Chinese people themselves — not dictated from distant capitals.

The message is unmistakable: external interference is increasingly irrelevant as internal convergence accelerates.

An Inevitable Trajectory

History does not always move in straight lines, yet certain trends assert themselves with undeniable force.

The Xi–Cheng meeting signals far more than diplomatic thawing. It reflects a deepening recognition that dialogue, economic logic, and shared national destiny are steadily outweighing confrontation and separatism.

Taiwan’s future will not be settled in Washington or any other foreign capital. It will emerge from the interplay of political, economic, and cultural forces across the Strait — forces that are increasingly converging toward one destination.

The path to national reunification may be gradual and complex, but it is no longer abstract. It is a historical necessity — an unstoppable trend toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

In that sense, Beijing’s latest move is not merely strategic.

It is historical.

 

Adrian Korczyński, Independent Analyst & Observer on Central Europe and global policy research

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GT: NETIZENS COMMENTS: Japan's dangerous provocations against China on Taiwan issue.

 

GTZ23I6CQ  •

 6 hours ago

1  

Japan is not a smart nor grateful nation. Japan adopted much of China's civilization, but stupidly it did not learn the good part. Instead Japan developed its own heinous evil path leading Japan to commit brutal anarchy in slaughtering and raping of victims predominantly Chinese. Japan's undertakings and how Japanese treated the Chinese when Japan was in power are good lessons that China can learn - not to do inhumane things. Japan's falsification of facts in its education and religion reflected significant deficiencies in Japanese behaviour. They fear to embrace even their own errors. Japanese are not as courageous as they think they are. Japanese reosrt to many false behaviors like putting up false images of good, demure and ability. In the 1,000 years of trying to invade China, Japan had made up several excuses. To sum up Japanese do not have good human qualities and still have a very long road to learn this.

GTZ23I6CQ  •

 6 hours ago

1  

Takaichi winning the following election will be helpful to China in resolving its West Pacific matters. As China pressures Japan, Japan will look to form allies in South East Asia. This will surface all the Japanese sympathizers. Once they are surfaced, they can be dealt with concurrently. Its just another revolution, only this landscape covers the entire East Asia from its north down to its south (ANZ). Ideally Japan enters into formal surrender agreement with China, returning all Chinese territory to China peacefully, becomes a republic, becomes truly demilitarized in its entirety and goes through a re-education process that is designed by China.

GTZ23I6CQ  •

 7 hours ago

1  

Japan has been invading China over the last 1,000 years. China and its tributory, Liu Qiu has suffered many brutal human losses in the hands of the Japanese. This is a fact. Japan has always disguised its heinous intent of invasion of China. Japanese education and religion, created olely from Japanese thinking only but never the truth, form the psychological foundation that determines Japanese behavior and characteristics, are heinous designs to support Japan's invasion of China goals. Expect Japan to use all kinds of flowery statement to camouflage its ill intent. This is consistent with the false demure and polite surface behavior put up by the Japanese that everyone always see but beneath these looks lie the true brutal heinous characteristics. Therefore, in dealing with Japan, there is no alternative but to uproot its roots in its entirety.

GT7UHZW6I  •

 7 hours ago

1  

The USA and the collective west also say it’s in their national interest to. As if China has no national interest. A lot of crappy politicians from the same backside.

GT58X43WG  •

 8 hours ago

1  

Eventually, Japan will be the only country that is belligerent against China and will be devoured by China into submission for a thousand years.

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