Translated by Claude, edited by Sinocism.com

People's Daily commentator Guo Jiping 国纪平

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Trump will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15.

应中国国家主席习近平邀请，美国总统特朗普将于5月13日至15日对中国进行国事访问。

Having gone through twists and turns, China-US relations have reached an entirely new historical juncture. Another handshake between the two heads of state will surely mark a milestone new starting point.

历经波折起伏，中美关系已走到全新的历史方位。中美元首又一次握手，必将是一个具有里程碑意义的新起点。

Looking back at the road traveled, in the face of turbulent winds and clouds, head-of-state diplomacy has charted the course, time and again guiding the giant ship of China-US relations through rapids and shoals and back onto the correct heading. The mutual outreach between the two peoples has, time and again, accumulated hope for China-US relations in the troughs, ensuring that the vast Pacific Ocean is no longer an unbridgeable divide.

回望来路，面对风云激荡，元首外交的领航把舵，一次次引领中美关系巨轮穿越急流险滩，重归正确航向。两国人民的双向奔赴，一次次为中美关系在低谷处蓄积希望，让宽广太平洋不再是天堑。

2026 is a year of special significance for both China and the United States. China is launching its "15th Five-Year Plan," and the United States is celebrating the 250th anniversary of its independence. Looking at the world, an increasingly turbulent and unstable world urgently looks to China and the United States to join hands to provide more certainty and stability. How can 2026 become a year in which China and the United States advance toward mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation? How can the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-US relations demonstrate the responsibility of major powers for the peace and development of the world? The world's gaze converges on Beijing, looking to find answers about the future in yet another historic interaction between the two heads of state.

2026年，一个对中美都具有特殊意义的年份。中国"十五五"开局起步，美国迎来独立250周年。放眼全球，更趋动荡不安的世界，迫切期待中美携手提供更多确定性和稳定性。如何让2026年成为中美迈向相互尊重、和平共处、合作共赢的一年？如何以中美关系稳定、健康、可持续发展，为世界和平发展展现大国担当？全球视线汇聚北京，期待从中美元首的又一次历史性互动中，探寻关于未来的答案。

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The markers of time are often clearest when looking back. The resilience of relations between nations is always most evident after weathering storms.

时光的刻度，往往在回首时最为清晰。国家间关系的韧性，总在历经风雨后愈发彰显。

International observers point out that in the past decade, China-US relations have experienced two rounds of ups and downs, from falling to a low point to returning to the right track. The first round began with the US launching a trade war against China in 2018, and it took years of complex maneuvering and multiple rounds of dialogue for the two sides to gradually stabilize the relationship. The second round was concentrated in 2025. In just a few months, China-US relations went through a process of going from a storm brewing to gradually re-stabilizing.

国际观察人士指出，近10年内，中美关系经历了两轮从跌至低谷到重回正轨的起伏历程。第一轮起伏，以2018年美方发起对华贸易战为起点，双方历经多年的复杂博弈与多轮对话，才让彼此关系逐步稳下来。第二轮起伏，则浓缩在2025年。短短数月间，中美关系经历了一轮从山雨欲来到重趋稳定的过程。

Amid the upheavals, what changes has its form, but what does not change has its roots.

波澜之间，变有其形，不变有其根。

From years to months, from the running-in of "fighting and talking" to the gradual accumulation of consensus and clarification of direction, China and the United States have, through repeated confrontations and dialogues, gradually undergone changes in mentality and approach in how they deal with each other. Today, dialogue between the two sides is more equal, communication more pragmatic, and bottom lines clearer; China-US relations show the possibility of opening a new chapter through resilience.