'Small ball moves big globe'

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

In 1971, a US table tennis team visited Beijing, a breakthrough that thawed more than two decades of estrangement, and helped pave the way for then US President Richard Nixon's landmark visit to China in 1972, and later the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1979. Its impact extended far beyond the bilateral sphere, profoundly reshaping the global landscape.

More than half a century on, Xi referred to the story not merely as a historical memory, but as a reminder of the profound influence stable China-US relations can have on the wider world.

In a 2024 meeting with Antony Blinken, former US Secretary of State, Xi invoked a concept inspired by traditional Chinese culture — "tong qiu gong ji" ("working together for the common good on the same planet").

"Planet Earth is only this big, and humanity is faced with so many common challenges," Xi said. "As an old Chinese saying goes, 'Passengers in the same boat should help each other.' Today, as I see it, 'dwellers of the same planet should help each other'."

During their meeting in Busan, Trump also acknowledged the importance of cooperation between the two countries, saying that China and the United States can get many great things done for the world and have many years of success.

"There is no geopolitical relationship more important than the China-US bilateral relationship ...with by far the largest impact on global affairs," said Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation.

For both countries, a stable China-US relationship helps remove obstacles to domestic development. More broadly, it carries profound significance for global stability and prosperity, according to Kuhn.

The timing adds further weight to the relationship. In 2026, China is embarking on its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), while the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding. The two countries will respectively host major global gatherings, the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen and the G20 Leaders' Summit in Miami, which will place them at the center of the international agenda.

Beyond red-line and trade issues, observers also point to several areas where cooperation remains vital for both sides, including climate change, counternarcotics and artificial intelligence.

For Xi, it is precisely these countless small acts of cooperation that carry lasting significance.

He once reminded Trump that for China and the United States, "it is always right to do a good thing, however small, and always wrong to do a bad thing, however small."

Just as the Chinese leader has noted on many occasions, China and the United States, as two major countries, can shoulder their responsibilities and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of both countries and the whole world.