Fourth China-US Relations Conference Held in Beijing

As 2009 marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the PRC and the United States， it was an appropriate moment for experts on both sides to consider where the two countries were heading in their partnership. Hence “US-China: Looking ahead after 30 years” was the theme for more than 300 participants to take part in in-depth discussion at the Fourth China-US Relations Conference held October 22-23 in Beijing.

This was jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC， Texas A M University， the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. Former Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan， Chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges， and Yang Jiechi， Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， delivered speeches respectively at the dinner reception and the opening ceremony of the conference. Xu Kuangdi， former Vice-Chairman of the CPPCC， President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of the China-US People’s Friendship Association， also addressed the conference. Former US President George Bush Snr was unable to come to the conference due to health concerns， and instead sent his son Neil as his personal representative. But he did make some remarks at the opening ceremony through a television hook-up. Daniel Poneman， US Deputy Secretary of Energy， Jon Huntsman， US Ambassador to China， Brent Scowcroft and Stephen Hadley， former US National Security Advisors， and Franklin L. Lavin， formerUS Under Secretary of Commerce also spoke at the conference.

China-US Relations

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi made a keynote speech on Sino-US relations at the opening ceremony. He said that， since the establishment of diplomatic ties 30 years ago， bilateral relations had achieved historic development through trials and hardships bringing the two countries and two peoples tangible benefits and making a positive and far-reaching impact on the international situation. When President Hu Jintao and President Barack Obama met in London in April 2009， they decided to work with concerted efforts to construct a positive， cooperative and comprehensive US-China relationship for the 21st century， which provided a strong orientation for the development of the bilateral relations in the new era. China was willing to adhere to this direction together with the US side， and work hard to implement the consensus reached between the heads of state， while always evaluating the relations between the two countries from a strategic and long-term perspective. The two countries should consistently expand common interests， deepen concrete cooperation， continue to respect and take care of each other’s core interests and major concerns and properly handle differences and sensitive issues， consistently promote cultural exchanges between the two peoples and push forward sound and steady progress of relations in the new era.

In his video message to the conference， George Bush said the development of relations between the U.S. and China had reached a breadth and depth of closeness unimaginable 30 years ago. He always believed that the country’s relationship with China remained the most important bilateral relationship for the U.S. Owing to the existing friendship and contacts established at both governmental and people level， the two countries would be able to learn more from each other in the new era， strengthen cooperation， and tackle global challenges with joint efforts in the common interests of both countries.

Ambassador Jon Huntsman said that numerous essential and urgent problems faced by today’s world would not have been capable of solution without the close cooperation between the U.S. and China. The importance and influence of the two countries in holding hands for cooperation had gone far beyond bilateral relations in nature. The two countries should continue to respect each other， carry on cooperation on an equal basis， and “help and learn from each other for mutual progress”.

Security Issues

Qian Lihua， Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defense， said both China and the U.S. were faced with common security challenges in safeguarding regional security and stability， anti-terrorism， nuclear weapons non-proliferation， international humanitarian operations， etc. However， the cooperation between the military forces of China and the U.S. was still not compatible with their influence around the world. In order to solve this issue， the Chinese and the US military forces need to make efforts in four aspects: first， respect each other’s core interests and security concerns; second， effectively enhance the strategic mutual trust between the two sides; third， help the two countries to further the understanding and knowledge about security issues through frank and honest dialogues; fourth， constantly explore common interests and areas of cooperation between the two countries. Qian emphasized that the U.S. arms sales and military support to Taiwan were the most severe area of dispute between the Chinese and US military forces. It was hoped that the US side would strictly observe the principles set in the three Sino-US Joint Communiques， August 17 Communique in particular， and take commitment to practically help the cross-Strait relations.

Brent Scowcroft said the U.S. and China had a different political setup， history and culture， and held diverse opinions on many issues， yet the key was to expand and deepen various communications and dialogue mechanism， especially the dialogue between the military forces of the two countries， so as to enhance mutual trust and prevent incidental events from resulting in head-on confrontation.

Stephen Hadley， former US National Security Advisor， said the relative lack of cooperation and transparency between the military forces of the two countries was the main reason that caused suspicion and doubts， so it was important to effectively strengthen military exchanges through a “military hot-line” and other dialogue mechanisms to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts， improve transparency of national defence strategies and military expense， and push forward cooperation in areas such as peace-keeping trainings and international humanitarian rescue.

Energy and Climate Change Issues

Fu Yucheng， President of the China National Offshore Oil Corp.， said energy and climate change had become important issues of development in which China and the U.S. were both vitally concerned. The recovery of the global economy should no longer repeat the old mode， but be linked to the issues of climate change， environmental protection and energy revolution to create a new healthy and sustainable mode of development. The Chinese Government had realized these challenges long ago， and， as early as 2003， had advocated taking a new industrial road with high scientific and technological content， good economic returns， low resource consumption， minimal environmental pollution and full display of human resource advantages， and a development strategy to build a resource-conserving and environmental friendly society. China， undoubtedly， was capable of achieving economic growth while protecting its environment and effectively using resources.

Daniel Poneman， US Deputy Secretary of Energy， said that， in order to realize sustainable prosperity， the two countries should make more efforts to develop low-carbon emission energy. The U.S. and China had adopted positive measures to promote the development of clean energy and carried out cooperation in this area. In July 2009， the US Department of Energy and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and National Energy Administration jointly announced the establishment of the US-China Clean Energy Research Center providing a platform and support to the energy scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries. Poneman said， nuclear power was a kind of clean energy with infinite potential and would play an important role in dealing with the climate change issue， and the two countries share a great potentiality for cooperation in this regard.