Interactions between heads of state would offer irreplaceable strategic guidance to China-U.S. relations, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng has said.
Xie made the remarks when interviewed exclusively by Newsweek, a New York-based media outlet, on a series of topics regarding the world's two major powers, including the state visit to China of U.S. President Donald Trump from Wednesday to Friday.
In the interview published on the website of Newsweek on Tuesday, Xie noted that a stable and constructive bilateral relationship serves the fundamental interests of both peoples and meets the shared expectations of the international community.
He expressed the hope that the upcoming meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump will be a success and set the right direction for the bilateral relations of the two countries going forward.
As for China's domestic and foreign policies, Xie said that domestically, China strives to advance national modernization across all fields.
Internationally, China commits itself to building a global community with a shared future for humanity and pursuing peaceful development together with all nations, Xie said.
As 2026 marks the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national socioeconomic development, Xie underlined China will inject steady momentum into the global economy and provide valuable development opportunities to all.
On the Taiwan question, he reaffirmed there is only one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.
Interactions between Chinese, U.S. leaders imperative to bilateral relations: ambassador
A shoe factory in Wenzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, has been working closely with its American partners to weather the sharp ups and downs in US tariff policies over the past year.
The city of Wenzhou is home to thousands of shoe factories, many of which focus on exports. About 1 in 12 pairs of shoes worldwide are made in the city.
Xuda Footwear in Wenzhou City, which manufactures for several major U.S. brands, saw its US orders drop about 40 percent year on year after tariff hikes began last year, according to vice general manager Lin Zhihua.
Then, despite widespread criticism and high volatility in U.S. stock markets after tariff hikes, last April, the White House clarified that the total effective tariff rate on Chinese imports had climbed to 145 percent.
The uncertainty prompted American clients to make practical adjustments. Yuan Weimin, head of Xuda Footwear's foreign trade department, said that clients asked the factory to leave retail prices blank on shoe tags, as final shelf prices in the U.S. remained unpredictable.
"The client felt the tariffs were going up and down, and were very unstable. So they started making some adjustments. For example, on the shoe price tags, we used to print the retail price. But they asked us to remove the price and just leave it blank," said Yuan Weimin, head of the foreign trade department of Xuda Footwear, as the sale price would probably be different when the shoes appeared on the U.S. shelves for customers.
Yuan said the uncertainty was also hitting the factory hard. While fearing last-minute order cancellations, Xuda continued production at the urging of its U.S. partners, who worried that halting orders would quickly empty American store shelves.
Some Americans showed solidarity with Chinese partners and chose to shoulder the risk of keeping things running. In one case, an American client paid for a large order but requested that the shoes not be shipped amid the high tariffs.
The moment of relief came in May, 2025. China and the United States reached a temporary agreement in Geneva, with U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods dropped from 145 percent to around 30 percent.
"By the end of June, production was back at scale. Because a 145 percent tariff isn't really workable for anyone," said Yuan.
Looking back on last year's turbulence, Lin said both he and his U.S. clients and partners were feeling stressed.
"It was a stressful time. Things were very unpredictable. Not just for us, but for the trading companies and the US clients too. Everyone was anxious," Lin said.
At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15.
Lin said he is looking forward to the U.S. president's visit.
"I'm actually looking forward to it. Him coming to China is in itself a sign that things might look up," said Lin.
Chinese shoe factory navigates US tariff turbulence through close partnership
