<轉載自2026年5月15日 明報 社評>
中美元首北京會晤,同意將構建「中美建設性戰略穩定關係」,作為中美關係新定位。今次是美國總統特朗普2017年訪華以來,再度踏足中國,兩國關係在這9年間飽經風浪,貿易戰、科技戰、金融戰層出不窮,可是美方始終無法扳倒中國。這次「習特會」為中美關係揭開新一頁,「建設性戰略穩定關係」,乃是相對於之前的破壞性兼不穩定關係而言,背後最大驅動力量不是美方的善意,而是中方力抗施壓的底氣。中美關係若能結束近9年的不穩定狀態,將是世界之福,但仍得視乎美方是否願意跟中方相向而行。台灣問題是中美構建戰略穩定關係的最大不穩定因素,還看華府如何處理。
重視兩國關係 北京以禮相待
特朗普上次訪華,中方以禮相待,未料半年之後,華府就揭開中美貿易戰序幕,標誌兩國關係由既競爭復合作,轉向全面對抗鬥爭,然而一路發展下來,無論是貿易戰還是科技戰,中國都展現出強大的韌性。去年特朗普向全球發動關稅戰,對華關稅一度上調至逾100%,欲逼中方就範,沒料到北京打出稀土牌,成功化解美方攻勢。美方無計可施,唯有在去年10月釜山「習特會」上,同意關稅戰休戰1年。
這次特朗普訪華,中方依然以禮相待,國家副主席韓正親臨機場迎接,規格比9年前由時任最高級外事官員楊潔篪接機更高。美國外交界人士直言,各國政府都知道特普朗外訪愛講排場。北京處處以隆重儀式接待特朗普,當然是給足面子,但這顯然不是因為「怕」了特朗普而刻意討好,而是北京非常重視中美關係,高規格才符合待客之道。說到底,外交講的是實力與底氣。與9年前相比,中美綜合國力差距顯著收窄,美方在貿易戰及科技戰上既無「一劍封喉」的制華招數,當下還要應付中東亂局及國內通脹升溫,特朗普手上實無太多對華施壓的籌碼。雖然美方近期以涉嫌協助伊朗規避制裁為由,對中國一些實體作出制裁,但規模有限,美方亦不敢向中國大銀行開刀,以免中方報復。既然華府未有咄咄逼人的舉動,北京多給特朗普一些面子又何妨。
特朗普率領十多名美國頂尖企業家訪華,美媒關注此行有何實質成果,例如成立由美國貿易代表倡導的中美貿易委員會,降低部分非敏感商品的關稅等。美伊戰事亦是另一關注點,尤其是伊朗外長早前剛剛到過北京,不過特朗普出發前已表明無意找中國幫忙;中方也一早表明立場,批評這是非法戰爭,就算中方希望霍爾木茲海峽盡快重開,亦不會幫華府向伊朗施壓。新華社昨天提到,兩國元首就中東局勢、烏克蘭危機、朝鮮半島等重大國際和地區問題「交換意見」,有關辭令相當於各自重申立場,並無重大突破或變化。
特朗普此行為美國企業、商界及農民帶來什麼好處,有待之後公布。特朗普作風自我中心,在他眼中,元首外交就是建立個人化的關係,有事可以直接跟對方談。不過對北京而言,元首外交的重要性,並非是談「大刁」、求實利,而是為兩國關係發展定方向、掌好舵。這次「習特會」的重要性,在於為中美關係重新定位,共同構建「中美建設性戰略穩定關係」。
對話不對抗、結伴不結盟,乃是當今中國外交兩大方針。國與國之間只要有共同利益,就可發展「戰略關係」尋求互利共贏。過去一段時間,美方對華施壓不擇手段,貿易戰等更屬但求傷敵不惜損己的做法,兩國在貿易、投資以至各方面的交流都充滿不確定性,爭端一波未平一波又起。以「建設性戰略穩定關係」作為中美關係新定位,乃是一項極具針對性的倡議。「穩定」意味關係具有可預測性,避免反覆變卦或出乎意料的操作,至於「建設性」則是相對於之前的破壞式行徑。
告別不穩定關係 還看特朗普誠意
習近平表示,「建設性戰略穩定」應該是合作為主的積極穩定,應該是競爭有度的良性穩定,應該是分歧可控的常態穩定,應該是和平可期的持久穩定。外交部稱,這將為未來3年以至更長時間的中美關係,提供戰略指引。不同於「戰略伙伴關係」,「建設性戰略穩定關係」並無要求中美結為「伙伴」,但不是「伙伴」不代表不可戰略合作,更不代表兩國必然是對手,「維持大國關係穩定」就是最大公約數。「習特會」上,習近平談到百年變局,將中美能否跨越「修昔底德陷阱」、開創大國關係新範式、共同應對全球挑戰、為世界注入更多穩定性,形容為歷史之問、世界之問,也是大國領導人需要共同書寫的時代答卷。問題在於特朗普這位「生意人」,是否真的有恢宏視野及格局,認真作答,還是隨便了事,轉過頭又試圖搞制華把戲。
台灣問題是「習特會」重點之一。習近平強調,台灣問題是中美關係最重要的問題,處理好了,兩國關係就能保持總體穩定,處理不好,兩國就會碰撞甚至衝突,將整個中美關係推向十分危險的境地。會後特朗普在天壇三度被問及台灣問題,皆無正面回應。中美構建「建設性戰略穩定關係」,台灣問題是最大不穩定因素。去年特朗普政府宣布百億美元對台軍售案,猶如為台海局勢添柴加薪。習近平就台灣問題向美方作出嚴正提醒和警示,美方應臨崖勒馬,只要特朗普明確表明反台獨,無論台海還是中美關係相信都可以保持穩定。
China-US Reset Hinges on
Taiwan
THE BEIJING SUMMIT
between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump seeks to
reset China-US relations. It marks Trump's first visit to China since 2017.
Over the past nine years, ties between the world's two largest economies have
been buffeted by repeated storms—trade wars, tech wars and bouts of financial
confrontation—yet Washington, for all its pressure tactics, has failed to bend
Beijing to its will.
This latest Xi-Trump
summit opens a new chapter, framed around the concept of a "constructive
China-US relationship anchored in strategic stability". Yet the real
driver is not American goodwill, but Beijing's confidence in its ability to
withstand sustained pressure. If nearly a decade of volatility in China-US ties
can finally be steadied, the world would stand to benefit. Taiwan remains the
biggest wild card, and much now rests on how the White House chooses to play
its hand.
On Trump's previous
visit to China, Beijing rolled out the red carpet; yet within months,
Washington had fired the opening shot in a trade war. As the confrontation
expanded from tariffs into technology controls, China demonstrated striking
resilience throughout. Last year, Trump escalated a global tariff offensive,
with duties on Chinese goods briefly exceeding 100%. Beijing's response was
swift and surgical: a rare-earths gambit that caught Washington flat-footed and
blunted the US push. With options narrowing, Washington agreed at last
October's Busan summit to a one-year truce in the tariff war.
Trump's style is
intensely personal: in his view, summitry is about leader-to-leader chemistry,
allowing issues to be settled directly at the top. Beijing, however, sees
head-of-state diplomacy differently. It is not primarily about striking
"big deals" or extracting immediate gains, but about setting
direction and keeping the bilateral relationship on an even keel.
Xi Jinping said
"constructive strategic stability" should be rooted in cooperation,
disciplined competition, manageable differences, and a prospect of lasting
peace. Unlike a "strategic partnership", this framework does not
require China and the US to become formal "partners"; nor does it
preclude strategic co-operation, still less imply that the two countries are
destined to be adversaries. Maintaining stable relations between the two great
powers is the broadest common ground.
At the summit, Xi spoke
of "profound changes unseen in a century", framing the question of
whether China and the US can avoid the "Thucydides Trap", forge a new
model of major-power relations, address global challenges together, and inject
greater stability into the world as a question of history, of our time, and of
the world, one demanding a joint answer from great-power leaders. The real test
is whether Trump, the deal-oriented president, has the breadth of vision to
respond in earnest, or whether he will improvise for now before reverting to
familiar containment tactics later.
Xi stressed that Taiwan
is "the most important issue" in China-US relations. If handled
properly, bilateral ties can remain broadly stable; if mishandled, the two
countries could drift towards clashes and even conflicts, pushing the
relationship into highly dangerous territory.
After the meeting, Trump
was asked three times about Taiwan during a visit to the Temple of Heaven, yet
on each occasion he sidestepped the question. Last year, his administration
approved a US$10 billion arms package for Taiwan, widely seen as adding fuel to
tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Xi issued a stern reminder and warning to
Washington over Taiwan, urging it to pull back from the brink. If Trump were to
clearly affirm opposition to Taiwan independence, stability—both across the
Taiwan Strait and in China-US relations more broadly—could still be preserved.
中美建戰略穩定關係 關鍵仍在台灣問題
中美元首北京會晤,為中美關係重新定位。今次是美國總統特朗普2017年訪華以來,再度踏足中國,兩國關係在這9年間飽經風浪,貿易戰、科技戰、金融戰層出不窮,可是美方始終無法扳倒中國。
這次「習特會」為中美關係揭開新一頁,「中美建設性戰略穩定關係」,背後最大驅動力不是美方的善意,而是中方力抗施壓的底氣。中美關係若能結束近9年的不穩定狀態,將是世界之福。台灣問題是最大不穩定因素,還看華府如何處理。
特朗普上次訪華,中方以禮相待,未料半年之後,華府就揭開中美貿易戰序幕,然而一路發展下來,無論是貿易戰還是科技戰,中國都展現出強大的韌性。去年特朗普向全球發動關稅戰,對華關稅一度上調至逾100%,沒料到北京打出稀土牌,成功化解美方攻勢。美方無計可施,唯有在去年10月釜山「習特會」上,同意關稅戰休戰1年。
特朗普作風自我中心,在他眼中,元首外交就是建立個人化的關係,有事可以直接跟對方談。不過對北京而言,元首外交的重要性,並非是談「大刁」、求實利,而是為兩國關係發展定方向、掌好舵。
習近平表示,「建設性戰略穩定」應該是合作為主的積極穩定,應該是競爭有度的良性穩定,應該是分歧可控的常態穩定,應該是和平可期的持久穩定。不同於「戰略伙伴關係」,「建設性戰略穩定關係」無要求中美結為「伙伴」,但不代表不可戰略合作,更不代表兩國必然是對手,「維持大國關係穩定」就是最大公約數。
「習特會」上,習近平談到百年變局,將中美能否跨越「修昔底德陷阱」、開創大國關係新範式、共同應對全球挑戰、為世界注入更多穩定性,形容為歷史之問、世界之問,也是大國領導人需要共同書寫的時代答卷。問題在於特朗普這位「生意人」,是否真的有恢宏視野及格局,認真作答,還是隨便了事,轉過頭又試圖搞制華把戲。
習近平強調台灣問題是中美關係最重要的問題,處理好了,兩國關係就能保持總體穩定,處理不好,兩國就會碰撞甚至衝突,將中美關係推向十分危險的境地。
會後特朗普在天壇三度被問及台灣問題,皆無正面回應。去年特朗普政府宣布百億美元對台軍售案,猶如為台海局勢添柴加薪。習近平就台灣問題向美方作出嚴正提醒和警示,美方應臨崖勒馬,只要特朗普明確表明反台獨,無論台海還是中美關係相信都可以保持穩定。