Chinese President Xi Jinping has a brief exchange with US Vice President Kamala Harris at the latter's request on the sidelines of the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov 19, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

Five days after the closely watched meeting between the top leaders of China and the US at G20, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a brief conversation with the US Vice President Kamala Harris at the request of the US side on Saturday during the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, and the Chinese president hoped that Harris can play an active role in bringing bilateral relations back to a healthy and stable track.

Xi said his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia, was strategic and constructive, serving as an important guidance for the China-US relations in the next stage, according to the Chinese Central Television (CCTV). 

It is hoped that China and the US will further enhance mutual understanding, reduce miscalculation and misjudgment, and work together to bring bilateral relations back to the track of healthy and stable growth, Xi told Harris. And he hoped Harris can play an active role on the matter, CCTV reported. 

During the brief conversation, Harris said the meeting between the two top leaders was successfully held. The US does not seek confrontation or conflict with China, and both sides should cooperate on global issues and keep communication channels open, Harris said. 

The short conversation is a concrete example of bilateral consensus made during the Xi-Biden summit on the sidelines of the G20 that China and the US maintain constant strategic communication, Li Haidong, a professor from the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Saturday, adding such kind of amicable interactions is conducive to building high-level mutual trust and presenting sincerity for cooperation. 

Li saw China-US interactions during the G20 and APEC, including meetings between trade teams of the two countries on Friday, as a positive progress that curbed the spiraling down of bilateral relations in the past period of time, helped push the relationship back to the track of restoration, and toward stable development.

Xi met Biden on November 14 in Bali, Indonesia, which has been the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies since the COVID outbreak and has been closely watched by the world. Xi told Biden that the current state of China-US relations is not in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples, and is not what the international community expects.

The two sides viewed the meeting, which lasted for about three hours and 12 minutes, as in-depth, candid and constructive, and they also instructed the teams of the two countries to follow up the key consensus reached by the two leaders. 

Following the meeting, some tangible progresses have been made in some aspects. For instance, top climate officials from China and the US recently started talks after the leaders of both countries endorsed the resumption of communications on climate change, and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai met with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao Friday to discuss multilateral and regional economic and trade issues on the sidelines of the APEC meetings. 

However, Chinese experts believe that despite recent enhanced interactions between China and the US, this won’t fully stop US provocations over the Taiwan question and what Harris will say and do in the Philippines should be closely watched.

Tensions over the Taiwan question are expected to be on the agenda when Harris meets Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr next week, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing Manila’s ambassador to Washington.

Harris will visit the Philippines after attendance to the APEC events in Bangkok. According to media reports, the Taiwan question is on her agenda and she may also visit the islands close to waters that Philippines and China have disputes on. 

With recent positive interactions, questions remain on whether the US will abide by the consensus so that the two sides can manage the divergences and cool down the tension over relevant affairs, experts said.