The meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Beijing this week will help the two sides jointly answer the defining questions facing China-US relations — questions posed by history, by the world and by the peoples of both countries.

The new vision for building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability agreed by the two leaders shows how the two nations can answer the questions of whether China and the United States can overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm of major-country relations.

As Xi stressed, the "constructive strategic stability" should be a positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, a sound stability with moderate competition, a constant stability with manageable differences, and an enduring stability with promises of peace.

That vision will provide strategic guidance for bilateral relations over the next three years and beyond, and should be welcomed by the people of both countries as well as the international community, as Xi said.?

The China-US relationship involves multiple dimensions, including politics, economy, trade, security and people-to-people exchanges. The new vision for relations is pertinent to the practical needs of the development of Sino-US relations in the new era.

The building of a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability should not be a mere slogan, but concrete action taken by both sides toward the same goal.

The vision can help the two sides explore more practical frameworks to implement the consensus reached in the head-of-state diplomacy, transforming initiatives and agreements into actions and results. This would enable them to more effectively build common ground, expand areas of converging interests and manage differences.

China stands ready to work with the US to turn the new vision for their relations into concrete, joint actions, and to jointly foster stable, healthy, and sustainable development in bilateral ties, as a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry stressed at a news conference on Thursday.

History has shown that China-US economic ties are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature. Differences should not be allowed to define the overall relationship. Given the size of the two economies, their different stages of development and differing national conditions, disagreements and frictions are natural. What matters is that the two sides address them through equal-footed consultation, the only correct path toward resolving differences and maintaining stable bilateral relations.

That the economic and trade teams of the two countries produced generally balanced and positive outcomes in the latest round of bilateral trade talks in the Republic of Korea on Wednesday is a testament to this, and the two sides should strive to sustain the good momentum they have worked hard to create.

China's pursuit of high-quality development, its commitment to high-standard opening-up and the vast potential of its economy and market help explain the willingness of US businesses to deepen cooperation with China. This underscores a broader reality: mutually beneficial cooperation remains the shared aspiration on both sides.

The productive exchanges between the US business delegation led by Trump and the Chinese side during the visit demonstrate that both countries possess not only the capacity, but also the sincerity, to translate China-US economic and trade cooperation into more tangible benefits for their two peoples.

Yet realizing the new vision will require both countries to fully respect each other's core concerns and legitimate interests. In particular, the US side should exercise due prudence, and refrain from crossing the red line on the Taiwan question.

As Xi emphasized, the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations, and if it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.

Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait constitutes the greatest common denominator between China and the US. If the US side truly seeks peace across the Strait, it should stop sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces on the Chinese island, as "Taiwan independence" and cross-Strait peace are fundamentally irreconcilable.

Whether 2026 can become a historic and landmark year for the world's most consequential bilateral relationship will depend on whether the US is prepared to meet China halfway and work toward shared objectives. The world's two largest economies have far more common interests than differences. They should be partners that help each other succeed and prosper together.