‘Divorce is not an option' for US and China, Newsom says after Xi meeting

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on CNN Wednesday, following his meeting with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping: 'Divorce in the two world's largest economies is not an option.'

Newsom told CNN's Christiane Amapour that his meeting with Xi at Beijing revived the hope that United States-China relations were about to change.

We've got a lot of heat to reduce. We have to manage our differences in strategy. He said, 'We've got reconcile our red lines in terms of strategy.

Newsom, the first US governor to meet Xi since 2006, is in China on a weeklong visit to promote climate action. Newsom's trip coincides with the high tensions between China and the US, which have led to both sides imposing export controls on crucial technological supplies such as semiconductors, as well as the equipment required to make them.

Newsom stated that the restrictions were a source of anxiety.

Newsom, however, said that the fact he had an audience with the top leader of the country was a sign of a thawing. Newsom has scheduled meetings with a number of high-level Chinese officials. This indicates that 'we're entering a new phase', he said.

They have instead pointed out a need to reduce the US' dependence on China, or 'derisk'.

Newsom stated that he reiterated the same message during his meetings with Chinese officials. He added, 'Competition is healthy and good.' Decoupling is not the same as derisking. To me, derisking means nothing more than diversification.

According to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi said to Newsom that the progress in relations between the two countries had not been easy and they should be cherished. Xi expressed his hope that Governor Newsom's trip to China will help stabilize the relationship.

The trip has already generated some goodwill. This is especially true after Newsom visited the southern Chinese metropolis Shenzhen, on Tuesday. The governor was seen taking a test drive in an autonomous SUV owned by BYD, China's top electric vehicle manufacturer, and was quoted as saying "I want two." According to Chinese state-run media.

Global Times, a Chinese tabloid, reported Wednesday that his remarks were seen as a "positive signal" that some state officials are willing to concentrate on practical cooperation instead of geopolitical zero-sum games.

Newsom's administration haspartnered withBYD in the past, with the automaker's US arm sending California millions of N95 masks in the early days of the Covid crisis, helping the state reopen, according to a previousstatementfrom Newsom.

China's economic slowdown has likely increased pressure on Beijing in recent months, despite the governor's view that China and the United States are 'interdependent'.

Officials are 'deeply aware' of the challenges that the country faces as it navigates through a property crisis, and reopens to the rest of the world after a pandemic. 'I think this is also part of the desire to turn the pages and renew and reinvigorate the relationship we have,' he said.

According to official statedata, China will be California's largest trading partner in 2022 with nearly $166 Billion in bilateral trade.

In 2022, the US state will have a gross domestic product of $3.6 trillion. Newsom, CNN, said that if California were a nation, it would be the fifth-largest economy in the entire world.