President Xi Jinping was greeted with success as he returned to China after his five-day U.S. visit. But the question is: Did the Xi-Obama meeting resolve the key issues between China and the U.S.?
In Seattle, local leaders and U.S. business and corporate leaders welcomed Xi. In Washington, the Chinese leader received a 21-gun salute and was lavished with a Grand National banquet at the White House.
While at the White House, President Xi and Obama discussed several issues for three long hours. According to reports, the two leaders talked extensively on issues that included cybersecurity, the South China Sea, human rights, bilateral relations, climate change and Iran's nuclear program, among others.
The editorial article of the Want China Times said that Xi and Obama had met in four public meetings since Xi took over leadership of the Communist Party in late 2012. But on those meetings, the two leaders have reportedly been unable to resolve the issues, and mistrust and tension between the two countries continue to mount.
In his latest visit to the U.S., which is Xi's first state visit as head of state, the Chinese leader expressed hope that the relationship between China and the U.S. would shift into non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
In his first stop in Seattle, Xi signed a $38-billion deal to purchase 300 Boeing aircraft over the next two decades, as well as pushed for the signing of an agreement between Boeing and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China to build a completion center for Boeing 737 passenger aircraft in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province.
On cybersecurity issues, Xi pledged that China would not join, encourage or support activities linked to stealing of corporate or commercial secrets. He also expressed willingness to establish a high-level mechanism to crack down on cybercrime.
Xi also urged the United States to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, seen as a gesture of peace to Washington.
In response, Obama raised the issue on China's island-building in the South China Sea as he reiterated the U.S. view that China's building of military infrastructure in the South China Sea only hampers the peaceful resolution of the conflict.
As a result, the two leaders failed to come to an agreement on several delicate issues on which China and the U.S. have opposing views. As China called for respect of the core interests of both countries, the U.S., on the other hand, insisted that the two countries first define what these core interests are.
According to the article, despite the long discussion between the two leaders, China and the U.S. have remained divided on political values and the concept of human rights, as issues on cybersecurity and the South China Sea continue to obstruct the development of bilateral relations.
The article said that to resolve this, the two powers need dialogue and cooperation to resolve the first issue and a conflict-control mechanism to bring solution to the second.