China-US relations are rooted in the people and draw strength from grassroots exchanges and connections
High-level reciprocal state visits this year between China and the United States draw global attention. While head-of-state diplomacy sets the tone and defines the bottom line, economic and trade mutual benefits serve as the ballast, people-to-people exchanges are the propeller, and risk management is the safety valve. Mutually beneficial economic ties, strong public support, and the institutional safeguards of risk management will keep the bilateral relationship stable and move it forward. Cherishing the goodwill and connections that span the Pacific encourages greater efforts to translate strategic consensus into concrete cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
Mutually beneficial economic and trade ties are the ballast that helps China-US relations withstand headwinds. The resilience of China-US economic and trade relations stems from the deep complementarity of the two economies and their closely intertwined interests. Bilateral trade has grown from less than $2.5 billion when China and the US established diplomatic ties in 1979 to around $559.7 billion in 2025, demonstrating the strong underlying momentum of economic ties. US exports to China and Chinese companies' investment in the US each supported around 1 million jobs. According to the General Administration of Customs of China, the country's imports and exports with the US totaled 4.01 trillion yuan ($598.1 billion) in 2025. These figures show that China-US economic and trade ties are a tangible link between businesses and consumers in both countries.
At the September summit, the two sides made significant progress in tariff-related consultations covering non-sensitive goods, with the next round of talks expected to be held in China soon. Therefore, where disagreements increase, it becomes more important to uphold the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.
People-to-people exchanges are the propeller driving China-US relations forward. A resounding achievement of the Washington summit is that the two sides underscored the agreement on building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability on the basis of "respect, fairness and reciprocity", offering important guidance for exchanges across various fields, including people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
To promote bilateral people-to-people exchanges, China took a series of new measures: Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang have taken up residence at Zoo Atlanta and are available for the US public to view; and building on the early completion of the "50,000 in Five Years" initiative, China will invite another 100,000 US youths to China for exchange and study over the next five years. When young people from the two countries sit down face to face, dialogue can provide a clearer picture of the real China beyond the one-sided information they may have encountered. In this sense, people-to-people exchanges are a strategic investment in reducing misunderstanding and building mutual trust.
Risk management is the safety valve that keeps China-US relations from spinning out of control. A senior member of the US House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the US and China has acknowledged that the US and China disagree on many issues, but when it comes to artificial intelligence, if we lose control, we are all losers. Chinese and US leaders agreed to establish a crisis prevention mechanism for AI risks, with top scientists from both countries conducting joint research. This outcome means far more than a technical arrangement: It shows that even in the most competitive emerging technology fields, China and the US can find shared interests, build guardrails for technologies that could reshape humanity's future and build strategic trust through joint scientific research. It is not only a safety valve for China-US relations, but also a model of cooperation among major powers for global technology governance.
Joint educational programs are a way for US youth to gain a better understanding of China. Located in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, Wenzhou-Kean University is an example of China-US educational cooperation. In 2006, Wenzhou University and Kean University formally signed an agreement to jointly establish the university. Since China's launch of the initiative to invite 50,000 US youths to the country for exchanges and study, Wenzhou-Kean University has welcomed 623 young people from across the US to its campus, giving them an opportunity to experience China first hand and write their own "China stories". Amira Caballero, the elder of twin sisters from New Jersey, said: "Many people ask why we decided to come back. My answer is that our first experience was simply wonderful. We didn't have enough time then to fully appreciate all that China has to offer. We hope to return to China, explore its education and culture in greater depth, and enrich ourselves. I have also invited my family to visit China next year."
People-to-people bonds provide a stronger foundation of public support for China-US relations. Good relationships between countries begin with the friendship between their peoples. People-to-people exchanges are a long-term endeavor. Their benefits may not be immediately visible, but they can withstand the ups and downs of political cycles and gradually become a deep-rooted public support for bilateral relations.
At present, China-US people-to-people exchanges still face practical challenges, including high travel costs and insufficient flight capacity. But young people's desire to communicate, understand one another and learn from each other remains strong. The challenge is to ensure that practical obstacles do not weaken the willingness to engage. When bilateral ties come under pressure, it becomes even more important to maintain flight services, facilitate visas, and support exchanges and cooperation between ordinary people. People-to-people exchanges should become a regular part of China-US relations rather than remain isolated cases. That would be the most practical way to ensure that China-US relations are rooted in the people.
Stable China-US ties matter to the certainty of the global economy. Together, China and the US account for about 43 percent of the global economy and about $14.06 trillion in combined trade. As the world's two largest economies, stable and growing China-US relations not only bring tangible benefits to both countries, but also have significant global spillover effects. The world rightfully expects China and the US to inject greater certainty into the global economy through constructive dialogue. In other words, China-US cooperation is not simply a matter between the two countries. It is also part of the broader global public interest. When China-US relations are stable, market expectations are more stable, giving the world economy greater certainty.
It is conducive to bilateral strategic stability to institutionalize the management of differences and translate consensus into action. Chinese and US leaders have demonstrated a high level of strategic vision and professionalism in building "strategic stability", and are steering problem-solving toward greater institutionalization. Economic and trade issues are handled through consultation via trade- and investment-related mechanisms, while AI safety risks are managed through dedicated dialogue and joint R&D mechanisms. In other words, "stability" does not mean that all differences between China and the US have been eliminated; rather, it means bringing differences into a manageable framework and turning consensus into tangible action.
Looking ahead, the key to maintaining stability lies not only in strengthening the risk safety valve, but also in consolidating the economic and trade ballast and bolstering the people-to-people propeller. Only by meeting each other halfway and pursuing mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and by continuously translating leaders' consensus into concrete cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, can we ensure the steady and sustained development of China-US relations and inject more certainty into the world economy. This path toward stability provides a foundation for China-US relations to weather storms and move forward.
The author is the director and a researcher at the Sino-US Institute for Humanities and Economics, the Zhejiang Provincial Center for Regional and Country Studies.
The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.
