China Says It Will Continue to Implement US-China Summit Agreements

▲ Presidents of the US and China meeting in Busan last October

As the opposition Democratic Party secured majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the U.S. midterms, the Chinese government has stated its desire to maintain and implement the agreements reached between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During a regular press briefing on the 4th, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning responded to a question regarding the U.S. midterm elections by stating, "The midterm elections are America's internal affair." She added, "China is willing to work together with the United States to continue safeguarding and well-implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state."

Spokesperson Mao further noted, "We are willing to strengthen communication, properly manage differences, and expand cooperation to build a constructive and strategic stable relationship between China and the U.S. based on mutual respect, fairness, and equality."

The United States and China exchanged high tariffs, export controls, and corporate sanctions last year during the first year of "Trump 2.0," but subsequently held successive summits in Busan last October, Beijing this May, and Washington, D.C. this September, embarking on relationship management such as a truce in the "trade war."

China has highlighted the agreement to build a "constructive and strategic stable relationship"—derived at the summit this May and reaffirmed at the summit this September—as a representative diplomatic achievement for President Xi.

The core of the agreement is that both nations recognize each other's equal footing and respect each other's core interests.

Based on this agreement, China has been attempting to reduce U.S. influence on key issues, including the Taiwan issue, which it regards as the "core of its core interests."

Some experts within China also forecast that the Democratic Party's victory in the midterm elections could become a variable in U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

According to Chinese media outlet The Paper, Chen Dongxiao, president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, noted that because the executive branch holds greater discretion than Congress regarding foreign affairs in the U.S., the current China policy is unlikely to be fundamentally overturned. However, he also predicted that the U.S. Congress could exert greater pressure to push for arms sales to Taiwan.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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