On November 1, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with US President Donald Trump at the latter’s request. On the same day, the SIAS jointly held a seminar on China-US relations, together with the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS).

Academics from local universities and institutions attended the meeting, including the SIAS, the SASS, Fudan University, Shanghai International Studies University, the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), Tongji University, and the Shanghai Shixiong Center for International Studies (SSCIS). Participants shared their views on how to promote sound and stable bilateral relations, by examining the changes in the US strategy toward China and the bilateral interactions of the ongoing trade dispute.

Participants agreed that as China-US relations now stand at a critical crossroads, both sides should commit to the healthy development of bilateral relations, especially by taking advantage of the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) as an opportunity to improve the role US enterprises play in boosting bilateral ties. Meanwhile, both sides should also increase exchanges between local regions, think thanks and people in the two countries, in order to strengthen the social foundation for bilateral relations and reinvigorate bilateral ties in the lead up to the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations in 2019.