Envoy hails Xi-Trump ties as key asset in US-China relations

China’s ambassador to the United States has placed the relationship between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump at the centre of efforts to stabilise ties between the two countries.

Speaking at a National Day event at the Chinese embassy in Washington on Wednesday, Xie Feng said the two leaders’ personal connection and willingness to engage directly had helped prevent relations from veering off course during difficult periods. He described their rapport and mutual respect as the most important strategic resource available to Beijing and Washington.

The remarks followed Xi’s recent state visit to the United States, where Trump arranged an unusually extensive programme. The Chinese president was received at the airport, attended a formal ceremony at the White House and joined a state dinner involving prominent American business leaders. The schedule also included a tea meeting and a visit to the National Archives.

The talks produced a joint commitment to pursue a more stable relationship founded on respect, fairness and reciprocal treatment. Xie said the presidents were also expected to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in Shenzhen in November and at the Group of 20 summit in Miami in December.

A relationship tested by repeated crises

The leaders’ direct channel began when Trump received Xi at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in April 2017. Trump said at the time that the pair had formed a friendship. That connection continued through the subsequent trade conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic and the four years when Joe Biden was president.

The relationship was reactivated last October during an Apec meeting in Busan, according to the account reported by the South China Morning Post. Further telephone conversations followed, before Trump visited Beijing in May. It was the first trip to China by a sitting US president in almost 10 years.

At the latest arrival ceremony, Trump said his relationship with Xi had been built on regard for one another and the interests of their respective populations. Xi likewise said the two men had remained in contact and had developed a personal understanding. He presented his visit as a continuation of that connection.

The embassy’s National Day celebration also placed greater weight than last year’s event on exchanges between ordinary people in China and the United States. The US State Department issued its customary message, expressing goodwill and wishing China’s people peace, health and happiness in the year ahead.

Technology and Taiwan remain fault lines

Xie used his speech to point to Chinese technological development as evidence that US restrictions had not halted the country’s progress. He cited Huawei and the artificial intelligence company Kimi, and referred to Huawei’s Tau Scaling Law and chip design.

Huawei said in May that the approach could eventually achieve performance comparable to 1.4-nanometre chips without relying on further improvements in chipmaking equipment. The United States and its partners have restricted Chinese access to advanced semiconductor technology, including the extreme ultraviolet lithography systems generally used to manufacture chips at 3nm and more advanced nodes.

The recent summit did not produce an agreement to loosen those controls. Taiwan was another unresolved issue. During a September 24 meeting, Xi urged Trump to make clear that Washington opposed Taiwanese independence, according to China’s foreign ministry. Taiwan was absent from the White House’s account of the discussion.

A separate disagreement emerged over whether arms sales had been raised. US ambassador to China David Perdue told Fox News that Trump had asked Xi whether China wanted to buy American weapons. Trump later said he did not recall such a discussion, while adding that Chinese officials might be interested because the United States made better equipment.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of China and has not ruled out using force to bring the island under its control. Washington does not recognise Taiwan as an independent country, but opposes a forcible change to its status and supplies the island with weapons.

Trade and crisis-management measures

The Chinese embassy said the two militaries had agreed to work towards a memorandum on crisis communication and preventing incidents. The US government did not refer to military cooperation in its own statement. The South China Morning Post had previously reported that improved military-to-military contact was expected to be announced.

On trade, Beijing and Washington extended the Busan agreement for two months, moving its expiry to January 10, 2027. The pact, concluded in South Korea in October 2025, reduced some US tariffs on Chinese goods, suspended further restrictions on companies linked to China, paused selected Chinese controls on rare-earth exports and included Chinese purchases of American soybeans.

The countries also created a Board of Trade mechanism and announced tariff reductions covering non-sensitive products. The US list included 77 categories of Chinese imports, while China’s list covered 1,619 American products. Items ranged from household goods, toys and Christmas decorations to agricultural produce, coal, timber, medical devices and hearing aids.

The two governments additionally agreed to begin a dialogue on artificial intelligence, covering the technology’s advantages and dangers. A second meeting was scheduled for November, alongside plans for a direct channel to discuss AI-related incidents. Together, the measures show that the leaders’ personal diplomacy has produced areas of cooperation, but not an end to the strategic disputes defining the relationship.