Harvey Dzodin, former legal adviser in the Carter administration, says frequent face-to-face meetings between China and the United States are "healthy, hopeful and necessary." His remarks came as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at Joint Base Andrews on September 23 for a state visit to the United States at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump.
This also marks the first exchange of visits between the Chinese and U.S. heads of state within half a year.
Xi said that while China and the United States, as both major countries in AI, compete in AI, they have even more reasons to cooperate.
The two sides should leverage respective strengths in AI rather than guarding against each other, Xi said, adding that the two sides can continue to engage in dialogue on AI, exchange views on its risks and benefits, and work together to prevent the misuse and abuse of AI.
"I hope the continued talks will end in further cooperation," Dzodin says. "President Xi is much more willing to put guard rails around AI. And President Trump still thinks the status quo is just fine, that no intervention is currently needed. And the problem with that is that once the genie gets out of the bottle, it's too late after humanity is destroyed."
Dzodin believes that if both sides keep discussing their differences and negotiating toward a win-win solution, they have a good chance of reaching one.
"To get a win-win solution, we need frequent face-to-face consultations," Dzodin says. He describes the recent talks in Washington as getting off to "a fabulous start." "I'm far more optimistic than I've been for a long time," he adds.
The figures reflect the depth of bilateral ties. In the first eight months of 2026, China-U.S. trade reached $400.84 billion, up 5.5 percent year-on-year, with monthly trade stable above $50 billion for five consecutive months. Cumulative investment by U.S. companies in China has exceeded $1.2 trillion, while more than 7,000 Chinese enterprises operate in the U.S., supporting over 1.1 million local jobs. People-to-people exchanges are also growing: more than 50,000 young Americans have visited China under a five-year exchange initiative, reaching the target two and a half years ahead of schedule.
Ahead of the meeting between the two leaders, China and the United States concluded their eighth round of economic and trade consultations in New York, reaching several agreements on issues including tariffs, trade and investment.
"My assessment is that so far we've had a good start, but more hard work is to come in Shenzhen and Miami and beyond that," Dzodin says. "But so far, it's purely ad hoc. There is no particular mechanism that's involved. And I believe it should be institutionalized, like our Strategic and Economic Dialogue."
Dzodin acknowledges that many issues remain on the table, from agricultural purchases and tariffs to Boeing aircraft, rare earths, advanced computer chips, investment and artificial intelligence. "These are not simple issues," he says, pointing to teams of hundreds on both sides working on them. He also sees potential for further meetings in Shenzhen and Miami later this year, calling the timing "exactly right."
For Dzodin, the fundamental question is not whether differences will exist, but how to handle them. "We're always going to have differences. It's just the nature of international relations," he says. "The question is, are we going to find ways to constructively confine our differences, but also to constructively expand our cooperation?" He warns that focusing only on competition is "dangerous" and hopes both sides can create more space for cooperation.
Reporter: Guo Zedong
Video editor: Deng Yingheng
Cover: Lai Meiya
