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Are US and China looking for ‘minimum stability’ after going through a ‘rough patch’?
Even though Donald Trump has postponed his trip to China, an academic forum heard that both sides still hoped to keep things on an even keel
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Cao Jiaxuanin Beijing
China and the United States are trying to navigate their differences to ensure that they maintain a basic level of stability in their relationship, an academic conference in Beijing heard last week.
At the forum held by Tsinghua University in Beijing on Friday, academics and former officials discussed the need to prevent open confrontation.
US President Donald Trump’s planned visit – now postponed for “five or six weeks” as he focuses on his war with Iran – was seen as a key opportunity by many speakers.
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Susan Thornton, the former assistant secretary of state during Trump’s first term, told the event: “We don’t really use the word ‘engagement’ … any more,” she said, describing the relationship as an “overlapping complex of interests” that required constant, clinical management.
Thornton said both sides now realised they must focus on a “minimum level of stability” as they emerged from a “rough patch” – a reference to tariffs and sanctions.
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She said the two sides should set up institutional guardrails, adding “you’ve got to have dialogue, communication mechanisms and leader-to-leader meetings”.
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