During their Busan meeting, Xi underscored the broader perspective needed to manage such frictions. "Both sides should take a broader and longer-term view," Xi told Trump, "focusing on the lasting benefits of cooperation instead of falling into a vicious cycle of retaliation." Trump described Xi as a great leader and a firm negotiator.

　　How, then, does Xi envision the direction of bilateral ties leading into the future? In a speech delivered in San Francisco in 2023, he posed what he described as the number-one question: "Are we adversaries, or partners?"

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at Welcome Dinner by Friendly Organizations in the United States, in San Francisco, the United States, Nov. 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

　　"If one sees the other side as a primary competitor, the most consequential geopolitical challenge and a pacing threat," he warned, "it will only lead to misinformed policy making, misguided actions, and unwanted results."

　　Xi also stressed that China has no intention of challenging or unseating the United States. "China never bets against the United States," he said. "Likewise, the United States should not bet against China."

　　Drawing on the experience of China-U.S. relations, Xi has outlined three principles -- mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation -- as the right path forward for the two countries.

　　"SMALL BALL MOVES BIG GLOBE"

　　This April, Xi sent a congratulatory letter to an event commemorating the 55th anniversary of China-U.S. Ping-Pong Diplomacy, recalling the historic 1971 episode often described as "a small ball moving the big globe."