On May 5, 2026, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng gave an exclusive interview to Senior Foreign Policy Writer Tom O’Connor from Newsweek on U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to China and China-U.S. relations.

Tom O’Connor asked: Foreign leaders, including those of Western countries, have been visiting China. Are there potential opportunities for China to capitalize on possible setbacks for US soft power influence abroad?

Ambassador Xie said that as a Chinese proverb goes, “Peaches and plums do not talk, yet a path is formed beneath them.” China’s domestic and foreign policies are consistent, and we always do the right thing. At home, we are committed to pursuing Chinese modernization on all fronts, focusing on managing our own affairs well, and becoming a better version of ourselves, so that our people can lead a better life. Internationally, we are committed to forging a community with a shared future for humanity, and joining hands with all countries to follow the path of peaceful development, implement the four global initiatives on development, security, civilization, and governance, and advance the development and progress of human society. As a result, a growing number of countries are seeing China as a cornerstone of certainty, a harbor of stability, and a friend worth having. That is why China’s “community of friends” keeps expanding.

Ambassador Xie said in March, the annual “two sessions” of China adopted the 15th Five-Year Plan, which has not only outlined a roadmap for advancing Chinese modernization in the next five years, but also brought rare and major benefits to the world. China has contributed over 30% to global economic growth annually for years. In the next five years, a China that continues to pursue high-quality development and high-standard opening-up will inject steady momentum into the global economy, and provide valuable development opportunities to all.

Ambassador Xie pointed out that the Plan will also open up vast room for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the U.S. China has a steadily growing market, a sound ecosystem of innovation, and an enabling business environment. In the next five years, China will further expand opening-up trials for value-added telecom services, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and other fields, thus further unleashing the enormous benefits of its trillion-yuan-scale market. As a prime arena for the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, China will provide a testing ground for new ideas and a frontier for value growth. China will also continue to foster a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized, so that foreign businesses can feel at ease in China. We welcome the American business community to seize the historical opportunities, and work together with China to usher in a brighter future of mutual benefit.