6月5日，习近平主席应约同美国总统特朗普通电话。这是特朗普第二届政府开启以来中美元首首次通话，也是日内瓦会谈后两国最高层为弥合分歧和解决问题所做的一次重要努力。这次通话有助于为中美关系后续发展排除干扰、确定方向。

历史表明，中美关系发展遭受的干扰和破坏往往源自美方。第一届特朗普政府在2017年对中国挑起战略竞争，在2018年对中国发起贸易战。第二届特朗普政府再次对中国发动贸易战。中方本着负责任的态度，与美方在日内瓦举行会谈并达成重要共识。会谈后，中方严肃认真执行了协议，但美方却小动作不断，陆续出台多项对华制裁措施，包括升级对华芯片出口管制、停止对华销售芯片设计软件、宣布撤销中国留学生签证。这些小动作表明特朗普政府对履行日内瓦会谈成果缺乏诚意。实际上，特朗普政府在经贸问题上一直在实施“恶意谈判”策略，即表面上参与谈判，实际上利用强势地位施压或故意采取破坏手段，为自己谋取不当利益。

针对中美关系中存在的问题，中方既展现诚意又坚持原则。中方一向认为中美合则两利、斗则俱伤，因此总是致力于同美方加强对话沟通，妥善管控分歧，拓展互利合作。尤其在不涉及原则性的问题上，中方会尽量尊重美方关切，力求通过对话协商争取共赢结果。日内瓦会谈及本次元首通话所要解决的问题都是美方挑起的，但中方并没有拒绝美方的谈判和通话请求。中方在日内瓦会谈后便积极采取措施，取消或暂停反制关税，展现了维护会谈成果的最大诚意。此次通话后，中方高度重视美方有关稀土的关切，在维持国际通行的出口管制措施的同时，善意地简化了对美稀土出口程序。鉴于中方的诚意，特朗普总统对通话表示满意。他认为美中合作可以做成很多好事，并表示美方乐见中国经济保持强劲增长，愿同中方继续谈判，欢迎中国留学生赴美学习。

对于处理中美关系，中方也有自己的坚定原则。在大方向上，习近平主席提出相互尊重、和平共处、合作共赢三原则。这些原则为中美双方有效管控分歧、推进双边互利合作确立了稳固的基调。具体到中美经贸问题，中方坚持对话协商解决的原则，坚决反对美方使用威胁或打压的手段，对美方单方面的制裁和关税，中方也有强有力的反制措施。台湾问题事关中国国家主权和领土完整，是中美关系第一条不可逾越的红线，虽然此次通话主要谈经贸问题，但习近平主席再次强调美国应当慎重处理台湾问题，避免极少数“台独”分裂分子把中美两国拖入冲突对抗的危险境地。这是对美方发出的郑重提醒。特朗普总统则表示美方将继续奉行一个中国政策。

当地时间6月9日，中共中央政治局委员、国务院副总理何立峰与美方在英国伦敦开始举行中美经贸磋商机制首次会议。这是会谈前，何立峰与美国财政部长贝森特握手。

此次通话还表明，元首外交对中美关系的稳定与发展起着关键的战略引领作用。中美关系犹如大海中航行的巨轮，容易受各种因素的干扰，因此需要两国最高领导人及时校准航向、稳定航程。此次通话阻止了前段时间中美关系的不断恶化，澄清了日内瓦会谈的模糊之处，为新一轮会谈铺平了道路。中国拥有党的集中统一领导和集中力量办大事的体制优势，因此决策效率高、政策连续性强，能在应对美国的挑战中保持长期战略定力和强大反制能力。美国的决策机制分散，政策易受行政部门、国会、利益集团、选举等众多因素影响。有关中美经贸关系和人文交流的决策，白宫贸易顾问纳瓦罗、财政部长贝森特、国务卿鲁比奥等人都试图影响特朗普总统。实际上，特朗普对中美达成经贸协议一直有很强的期待，他在此次元首通话中的积极表态有利于美方排除相关干扰因素，而继续指定贝森特领导新一轮谈判，并让商务部长卢特尼克和贸易代表格里尔参与谈判，这种安排将使中美在贸易、金融、出口管制等领域的沟通更加丰富和顺畅。

中美两国拥有广泛共同利益和广阔合作空间。最近，美国英伟达公司总裁兼首席执行官黄仁勋、摩根大通集团董事长兼首席执行官杰米·戴蒙、美中关系全国委员会董事会执行副主席埃文·格林伯格等重要人士先后访华，为推动中美关系健康发展发挥积极作用。特朗普政府有必要倾听他们对中美关系的看法。

此次元首通话是中美为纠正近年来总体不断恶化的双边关系的又一次重要努力。中方将一如既往以最大诚意推动中美关系稳定、健康、可持续发展。鉴于中美关系受到的干扰往往来自美方，特朗普政府有必要将两国元首的共识严格落实到后续行动中，避免中美关系再次面临螺旋式下降的危险。

President Xi Jinping of China and his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, spoke by phone on June 5 — their first call since Trump's second term began in January. It was part of an effort to bridge differences and solve problems and was conducive to clearing obstacles and setting the direction for the future development of China-U.S. ties.

Historically, most obstructions in bilateral relations have been caused by the United States. The first Trump administration provoked strategic competition with China in 2017 and started a trade war the following year. The second Trump administration has once again launched a trade war against China, which took a responsible approach and engaged in trade talks with the U.S. in Geneva. They reached important points of agreement and China has implemented those rigorously. Nonetheless, the U.S. has been undermining the Geneva agreement by successively introducing multiple sanctions against China — from issuing AI chip export control guidelines to stopping the sale of chip design software and revoking the visas of Chinese students. These petty moves reveal that the U.S. has fallen short of sincerity in fulfilling its Geneva promises.In fact, the Trump administration has adopted a malicious negotiating strategy, which means it uses its dominant power to pressure the other parties or to deliberately ruin outcomes for the sake of profit.

As for bilateral relations, China has demonstrated sincerity while adhering to principles. As always, Beijing believes that both sides stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, and it is therefore committed to enhancing communication, properly managing differences and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation. On issues that do not involve matters of principle, Beijing makes every effort to accommodate U.S. concerns and strive for win-win outcomes through dialogue and consultation.The Geneva talks and the recent phone call were initiated by Washington, and Beijing responded positively to each. It has since canceled or halted its countertariffs against Trump's prohibitive levies, showing the utmost sincerity and desire to maintain the outcomes of the trade talks. In addition, to address Washington's concerns about rare earth elements, Beijing has simplified its export procedures on those under long-established international practice.Trump expressed satisfaction with the phone conversation, saying the U.S. welcomes China's robust economic growth, is willing to continue negotiating with China and that Chinese students are welcome to study in the U.S.

China also has its own principles in tackling its relations with the U.S. Xi highlighted mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as the three overarching principles in the development of bilateral ties in the new era, laying a solid foundation for the two sides to effectively manage differences and advance mutually beneficial cooperation. When it comes to specific trade and economic issues, China adheres to the principle that differences should be resolved through dialogue and consultation and firmly opposes the U.S. use of threats or coercive measures. Facing America's unilateral sanctions and tariffs, China put powerful countermeasures in place.The Taiwan question, which touches on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, remains the first red line that must not be crossed. While the phone call generally revolved around trade, Xi underlined again that the U.S. should handle the Taiwan question with caution and prevent a few separatists seeking Taiwan independence from dragging the two nations into an abyss of confrontation and conflict. This was a solemn reminder, and Trump responded that the U.S. would continue to honor the “One-China” policy.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (right) shakes hands with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent before their meeting to discuss China-U.S. trade, in London on Monday, June 9, 2025. (Photo: Li Ying/Xinhua)

Moreover, the phone call once again highlighted that head-of-state diplomacy can play a key strategic role in stabilizing and advancing China-U.S. ties. Like a huge ship sailing in the sea, relations are subject to interference of various kinds, and the top leaders of both nations are needed to steer in a timely manner. The conversation helped stop bilateral ties from deteriorating further and clarified ambiguities left over from the Geneva talks. And it paved the way for a new round of talks.China has centralized leadership under the Communist Party and the institutional strength to pool resources to accomplish major objectives. This ensures highly efficient decision-making and strong policy continuity, which enhance stability and remain robust when facing challenges posed by the United States. In contrast, U.S. decision-making institutions are rather fragmented, so its policies are susceptible to a range of variables introduced by the White House, Congress, interest groups and electoral politics.For instance, White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others have all tried to influence Trump on trade relations, as well as on people-to-people exchanges with China. In fact, Trump has expressed high expectations for a trade agreement with China. His positive remarks about the phone call could also help Washington avoid interference that has roiled bilateral ties. Trump appointed Bessent to lead the new round of negotiations in London and asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to attend. This arrangement stands to enrich and smooth bilateral communication in areas such as trade, finance and export controls.

China and the U.S. have extensive common interests and cooperation potential. In recent months, Jensen Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia; Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase; Evan Greenberg, executive vice chair of the National Committee on United States-China Relations; and other important figures visited China, playing a positive role in fostering the healthy development of China-U.S. ties. The Trump administration needs to listen to their opinions.

The recent phone conversation was another major effort by both sides to mend their frayed relationship. Beijing will, as always, promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. ties with utmost sincerity. Given that most interference comes from Washington, it is essential that the Trump administration apply the consensus reached during the call to its future actions to prevent bilateral ties from lapsing once again into a downward spiral.