BEING FRIENDS,THE CORRECT CHOICE

By Ding Ying

BEING FRIENDS,THE CORRECT CHOICE

By Ding Ying

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping stresses mutual trust and common understanding during his U.S. tour

T he world is curious about the future of the Sino-U.S. relations as the two countries engage in increasing interactions in the Asia Pacific.Washington declared in 2011 that it would sw itch its strategic focus to the burgeoning region. There have been worries that the world could be dragged down if the two giants decide to confront each other.Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s recent American visit, which was his first one as a state leader, was the right moment to erase this suspicion, said observers.

During his visit both sides agreed a healthy bilateral relationship is not on ly crucial to each other’s interests,but also w ill benefi t the region and even the world. The two countries must find a unique way to establish a w in-w in bilateral relationship based on mutual trust,mutual respect, cooperation, and common understanding. Another convincing reason is their trade and econom ic links are so close that a rift in the relationship w ill definitely hurt both.

Visit of significance

Xi’s visit can be considered as a tour of exploration, said Jia Xiudong, a researcher w ith the

—Jia Xiudong, a researcher w ith the China Institute of International Studies China Institute of International Studies (CIIS).He pointed out that this tour was significant for the two sides to find a way to implement the important consensus reached by the presidents of the two countries on the promotion of bilateral ties, and to push the bilateral relationship forward along the track of healthy development.

“Ch ina w e lcom es the Un ited States to p lay a construc tive ro le in the Asia-Pac ific reg ion, and U.S.in fluence in the reg ion shou ldn’t be exc lusive.”

Xi announced right after he arrived in Washington, D.C. that the purpose of his visit w as to increase consensus, deepen friendship and communicate w ith people from various walks of life in the United States. In addition to stops in Washington,D.C. and California, Xi also visited the M idw estern state of Iowa, returning to a town he visited 27 years ago as a local official from north China’s Hebei Province heading an agricultural delegation.

This year serves as a link between the past and the future for the two countries. In the second half of this year, China w ill hold the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, while the United States w ill have a presidential election. Xi’s visit w ill cement a good basis for future personal relations between leaders of the two countries, said Jia.

Bonnie Glaser, a senior fellow w ith the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said she hoped there was some “chemistry” between Xi and U.S.President Barack Obama.

“I hope they recognize that the U.S.-China relationship is among the most important in the world and as leaders they have to be good stewards of this relationship. Managing bilateral differences is critically important,” she said.

Xi’s visit was important in terms of shaping both elite and popular U.S. perception of China at a time when people in the United States are getting ready to choose their president, said David J. Firestein, Vice President for the Strategic Trust-Building Initiative and Track 2 Diplomacy of the EastWest Institute,a global think tank based in New York City.

During Xi’s visit, China and the United States agreed that they would continue to build the Sino-U.S. cooperative partnership, which is significant for the healthy and stable development of relations. They also reached consensus on maintaining close touch between leaders of the two countries. They decided that the fourth round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the second round of Strategic Security Dialogue w ill be held in China in May. They also w ill have the third Asia-Pacific affairs consultation in March.

X i said w hen m eeting Obam a that China and the United States should increase strategic trust and respect each other’s core interests and major concerns. Obama promised the United States w ill adhere to the three Sino-U.S. Joint Communiqués and the one-China policy.

The United States “does not support any calls for ‘Taiwan independence’,” the Xinhua News Agency quoted Obama as saying.

In addition to meeting current U.S. leaders, X i also talked w ith former officials.This was a good way to promote political relations, said Jia.

The vice president’s visit also pushed bilateral trade and economic cooperation forward, said Jia.

China and the United States released a fact sheet on strengthening economic relations during Xi’s visit. The two countries vowed to promote the healthy and steady development of their bilateral cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit. They pledged to promote strong, sustainable and balanced grow th of the two countries, crossborder trade and investment and financial sector development and to strengthen international cooperation. According to the sheet, the United States w ill export more hi-tech products to China and encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in the United States.

Xi headed a delegation of several hundred Chinese entrepreneurs, who planned to import over $27 billion products from the United States during this tour. Jia pointed out that this reflected China’s active attitude to realize a trade balance between the world’s two largest econom ies. Xi also called on the United States to adjust its econom ic policies and structure to address Sino-U.S. trade imbalances when speaking at a welcom ing luncheon hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the U.S.-China Business Council on February 15.

The visit also was a tour to enhance social communication between the two sides, Jia said.

Firestein echoed this view. “A lot of Americans know the name Hu Jintao, but the name Xi Jinping is not well known yet in the United States, and his face is not yet well known,” he said. “And I think the public diplomacy aspect of this visit is creating a shaping of perception, helping the American people put a personal face on the Chinese leadership.”

Path of cooperation

The United States is the top power in the world. China, w ith its grow ing econom ic strength, is becom ing more influential as the biggest developing country in the world.Today’s Sino-U.S. relationship is extremely important.

However, their relationship is under a big test, which is brought by their changing power balance. “U.S. influence is decreasing and China’s influence is on the rise. This is the root of current disputes between them,”said Jia of the CIIS.

Since 2001, Washington has been focusing on counterterrorism w hile China has stressed econom ic development. During the past decade, they have been in a state of“complicated interdependence,” said Wang Jisi, Dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University. The international situation has been changing since 2008, when the global financial crisis started. Developed countries, including European nations and the United States, are caught in econom ic recession. The debt crisis spreading in Europe makes their recovery even slower. While developed countries have stagnated, China has maintained stable development, becom ing the second biggest economy in the world.

“The smaller economic gap makes conflicts between China and the United States pop out,” said W ang, adding that their conflicts on econom ic, political and international security issues are getting sharper.China’s development makes Washington uneasy, so it decided to “return” to the Asia Pacifi c and adjusted its m ilitary deployment in the region, he said.

Recent events in the Asia-Pacific region rem inded the two sides of the need to find a way to resume strategic mutual trust between them. Analysts suggested that the two countries should seize the current opportunity and adjust their policies toward each other in accordance w ith circumstances based on the principles of mutual benefi t and w in-w in progress.

“American politicians accuse China of trying to challenge U.S. leadership on the p lanet. Some Chinese elites believe Washington’s intention is to prevent China’s development and China should react w ith a tough attitude,” said Wang.

Both countries regard the Asia-Pacific region as being critically important to them.“Obviously, it’s China’s home region and China is a critical player in the region. But the United States regards the Asia Pacific as kind of a home region as well, partly because we have a long Pacific coast and we also have alliances throughout Asia. And there are also very profound security interests in the region that we have to be active,” said Firestein.China and the United States share fundamental objectives in the Asia Pacific because both countries want to see peaceful relations, stability and prosperity in the region, he added.

He said in terms of those broad objectives,there is commonality between the two countries. “I think we see some tactical differences in the region. But on the whole, the United States and China have either commonality or complimentarity of interests,” he said.

The changed situation in Asia Pacific and grow ing mutual interests between China and the United States provide unprecedented opportunities for them to enhance strategic trust,said Wang of Peking University.

Wang said differences between the two sides w ill never be big enough to prevent China and the United States from trade and econom ic cooperation. Plus, the world needs them to work together on global finance,trade, energy, climate change, public health and regional issues. “As long as they proceed w ith expanding common interests indifferent aspects on different levels, China and the United States w ill be able to establish a global partnership based on strategic mutual trust,” Wang said.

(Left) CHINESE CHIC: A Chinese flag is d isp layed on the NASDAQ building video screen in New York City’s Tim es Square on January 20, three days before the trad itional Chinese lunar New Year

GOOD OLD DAYS: Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping talks w ith Tom Dvorchak (left), who was his host during his 1985 visit to the U.S.state o f Iowa, at a tea recep tion in Muscatine, Iowa on February 15.Most o f the participants were Xi’s o ld acquaintances from his 1985 visit

Trade and economic ties have been the driver of the Sino-U.S. relationship. Statistics from China’s M inistry of Commerce show that the bilateral trade volume reached a record high of $446.7 billion in 2011. The United States exported $122.2 billion to China last year, increasing 20 percent from 2010.Now, China and the United States are the second biggest trade partners to each other.

China and the United States should admit that each has undeniable advantages in its development model, and they must rely on each other when dealing with global issues, Wang said.

Jia of the CIIS said the two countries should be more tolerant of the other country’s influence. “China welcomes the United States to play a constructive role in the region, and U.S.influence in the Asia-Pacific region shouldn’t be exclusive,” he stressed. The United States should make efforts to promote a regional multilateral cooperative dialogue mechanism.

“The United States must realize that it also w ill benefit from regional integration,”Jia said. “This is not a zero-sum game, nor a hostile competition. We can make the pie bigger together.”

Firestein said the United States welcomes the rise of a strong, confident and prosperous China that plays a greater role in international affairs. And China has welcomed the United States as an Asia-Pacifi c nation that contributes to the peace and prosperity of the region.

“I think those basic statements articulated in the joint statement between presidents Obama and Hu a year ago accurately capture the ways the two countries have viewed each other and the possibilities for cooperation,” Firestein said.

Vice President Xi said in an interview w ithThe Washington Postshortly before traveling to the United States that the Pacific Ocean is big enough to hold both China and the United States.

As long as the two powers can forge consensus and mutual trust, they w ill eventually find a unique way to cooperate, because they understand that being friends is the only correct choice.

(With reporting by Chen Wen in New York City)