“From viewing each other as enemies to positioning each other as friends – nothing is more dramatic than this,” said the professor at the University of Hong Kong’s Centre on Contemporary China and the World, praising Trump’s transactional approach and personal rapport with Xi.
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Li welcomed the shift towards framing the relationship in terms of constructive strategic stability as “pragmatic and realistic”, but expressed scepticism about a fourth communique.
“In my view, if he does not even implement the existing three communiques, what is the point of signing a fourth one?” he asked, without offering specific examples of how Trump had failed to uphold the agreements.
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Li also cautioned that pushing for a new document could provoke anti-China forces in the United States ahead of the midterm elections.