Editor's note: Chen Guifang is a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

A presidential phone call on Friday has brought a highly anticipated and much-needed moment of clarity to a complicated bilateral relationship and certainty to a world on edge. Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump engaged in a nearly two-hour phone conversation, with Beijing describing it as "pragmatic, positive and constructive," while Washington characterized the call as "very productive."

As a crucial move of strategic guidance on how to stabilize the China-U.S. relations, the call's significance is two-fold: It seeks to steady the single most consequential bilateral relationship in today's world, and in doing so, offers a rare dose of stability to the world.

Stabilizing China-U.S. ties

During their phone conversation, the two presidents demonstrated a strong shared understanding of the unique importance of the China-U.S. relationship, and they focused on common interests over differences.

Xi said China and the U.S. are fully capable of helping each other succeed and prospering together for the good of the two countries and the whole world. For that vision to materialize, Xi said that both sides need to work hard and in the same direction, to realize mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, which are guiding principles that the Chinese president has long championed.

Trump responded by calling the U.S.-China relationship the world's most important and expressed a desire for a "long-term, big and great" relationship with China.

The direct communication between the leaders, the third since Trump's election victory in January, came following a series of intensive, high-level dialogues across various sectors, including trade, foreign policy and defense, over the past two weeks.

President Xi said the recent consultation between Chinese and U.S. officials reflected the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit and called for the two sides to continue to properly handle the outstanding issues in bilateral relations and strive for win-win outcomes. Trump, for his part, said the U.S. will work with China on the economy and trade, and support their teams in reaching a proper deal on the Chinese-owned short-video app TikTok through consultation.

As Wu Xinbo, director at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told a Chinese media outlet, the presidential call has set the tone for the relationship going forward. The expectation now is that both sides will continue negotiating and working to stabilize the relationship, thereby preventing a slide into the kind of downward spiral seen earlier this year with over 100 percent tariff hikes.

Of course, a single call cannot fix everything. The deep-seated issues in the relationship will not disappear overnight. Whether renewed trust and managed competition translate into lasting change will depend on the hard work of both sides to find more common ground in future negotiations.

A dose of stability for the world

Beyond the bilateral ties, the Xi-Trump call offers a much-needed dose of global certainty and stability, underscoring that the world's well-being depends on a stable China-U.S. relationship.

By signaling a continued readiness to negotiate a resolution to trade disputes, the call provides a sense of relief for the global economy. Many countries, particularly those with deep trade ties to both China and the U.S., are likely to view any sign of de-escalation as a positive development.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has consistently warned that an economic decoupling between China and the U.S., and the resulting fragmentation of the global economy, would be a "negative-sum game" that will end up being a lose-lose scenario for all.

In a speech in May 2024, IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath warned that the fragmentation of the world into two blocs centered around China and the U.S., with some countries remaining non-aligned, could result in a long-term loss of around 2 percent of global GDP, while in an extreme scenario, losses could be as high as 7 percent of global GDP.

No wonder the fact that the two leaders have agreed to have their teams work on trade and economic issues seems a welcome signal for global markets. Friday saw a significant rally across all major U.S. stock indexes, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, reflecting investor optimism.

More importantly, the two presidents have affirmed their commitment to working together for world peace. Xi has reiterated the peaceful coexistence of China and the U.S., while Trump expressed belief that the two countries working together can get many great things done that are good for the peace and stability of the world.

The world is far from peaceful. With a multitude of military conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the last thing the international community wants is an escalation of tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. China and the U.S. have a shared history of fighting together as allies during World War II. Today, they can and must join hands once again to safeguard global peace.

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