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Recently, government officials from both China and the United States have made positive remarks about the current status of relations between the two countries.
In his foreign policy speech at George Washington University on September 5, US Secretary General Colin Powell said that the nations are enjoying their most co-operative relationship since former President Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972. He praised China for its role in making the six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue a reality.
On the evening of the second anniversary of the September 11 tragedy, Clark T. Randt, US ambassador to China, observed at a "China forum" held at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) that the tragedy proved the US does have an enemy, but it is not China. He added that anti-terrorism has provided the groundwork for enhanced US-China co-operation.
On September 22, President George W. Bush, in his White House meeting with Chinese foreign minister Li Zhaoxing, expressed satisfaction with the way the relationship is evolving.
Wang Yunxiang, the Chinese consul general in San Francisco, pointed out at his September 17 reception that Sino-US relations have progressed remarkably and are enjoying the best of times while the two countries are co-operating in a variety of areas, including trade, anti-terrorism and the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
On September 22, two US navy ships joined the South-China fleet in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province for a five-day visit. That same day, Li Zhaoxing was accorded an official welcome that went beyond that usually reserved for a foreign minister.
Of course, for all the positive comments on bilateral relations, both sides have different perspectives on their relationship and what it means.
For the US side, China has provided valuable co-operation on anti-terrorism and the Korean nuclear issue, along with preventing an escalation of tensions in South Asia; China has offered responses that are restrained and constructive on the Iraq issue, even though differences exist; and, on the issue most likely to disrupt Sino-US relations, the Chinese Government, in the face of the Taiwan authorities' various forms of provocation, has shown the greatest possible restraint in an effort to maintain cross-Straits stability.
For the Chinese side, the United States has been meddling less in China's internal affairs, thus allowing China to concentrate on domestic problems; and the Bush administration has made a not-improper response on Taiwan's referendum.
For the present and foreseeable future, the Sino-US relationship will, by and large, continue to be candid, constructive and co-operative. The fundamental reasons for this are many. First of all, with the United States focusing on its fight against terrorism and nuclear proliferation, it has a greater need of China's support and less time to concern itself with China's internal affairs.
In terms of regional policies, the United States will need several years to restore order in Iraq, rein in Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, and manage its relations with Saudi Arabia. Besides dealing with the chaos in the Middle East, the United States will also have to co-ordinate its relations across the Atlantic, especially those with Germany and France. This does not leave much time to take action against China.
China, in its own interests, will nurture its relations with the United States and stick to a policy of co-operation and non-confrontation.
After more than a decade of diplomatic to-and-fro since the end of the Cold War, both China and the United States have developed a mechanism for managing their relationship more smoothly.
While acknowledging positive developments as the main focus, the dissonance that permeates the relationship should not be ignored. On the issue of the valuation of China's currency, the two main political parties in the United States are striving to outdo each other in blaming China. Meanwhile, the Bush administration is planning to set up a new trade agency to deal specifically with China. All of this hoopla points to China as the scapegoat of America's economic woes.
In addition, the US Government has continued to bludgeon China on a variety of issues including human rights and Tibet question. This year the US State Department, in its annual report, again condemned China's human rights record. On September 10, Bush met with the Dalai Lama at the White House. And the US Government decided to sanction the China North Industry Corporation (NORINCO).
There are other examples. Vice-President Cheney's scheduled visit to China has been put on hold due to pressures from the conservative camp. More conspicuous was the September 16 Taiwan policy seminar, held by the American Heritage Foundation, during which some US congressmen openly challenged the one-China policy. On the same day, Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave filed a motion to get Taiwan into the UN as a full member, winning support from nine other congressmen.
Some of the underlying factors for such moves are political and economic. Domestic politics in the United States are never more crucial than in an election year. With the race for the 2004 election in full swing, partisan politics will undoubtedly throw a wrench into the works by twisting various aspects of the relationship to their advantage.
In addition, conflicting interests and divergent positions between the two countries still exist, and the past can still return to haunt them. The elite class in the United States, for its part, has maintained strategic vigilance against China in its economic rise, and neo-conservatives have been nothing but hostile.
Even with all these difficulties, future relations between China and the United States are manageable. For one thing, the field of mutual co-operation is expanding and now includes not only anti-terrorism and anti-nuclear proliferation, regional security, global economic growth and trading, but is also tackling environmental issues, poverty, drug trafficking and human smuggling, areas in which China's importance is growing.
As Powell said in his September 5 speech, the rationale for improving relations has exceeded the disparities, and the two countries should take responsibility for a common future. The four issues that underpin the Sino-US relationship - Taiwan, human rights, trade conflict and nuclear proliferation - have subsided somewhat and can be further contained.
As for maintaining the status quo of the Taiwan Straits, the two countries are in step, which will become more evident as time goes on.
With improvements in China's rule of law as well as a cooling of the China topic in the United States, the gap over the human rights issue will also narrow. Trade wars will become more routine and less politically tinged. And anti-proliferation will shift from a focus of concern to one of co-operation.
China's growing economic power and its influence in the region through the Shanghai Co-operation Organization and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone give China greater leverage in managing its relations with the United States.
In the final analysis, it is up to both countries to nurture the relationship. Both governments should make this a priority, especially the US Government. Both sides should make an effort to manage differences and expand common interests. Decision-makers and opinion-creators on both sides should keep a dialogue going in order to reduce the chances for misunderstanding and antipathy. On the part of China, clarifications about the use of its ever-increasing economic forces would be helpful, while the United States should notify China of its policies and explain how they will affect China.
The author is a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
(China Daily September 29, 2003)
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