By Yuan Peng
'Stakeholder' and 'hedging', the two concepts brought out by US
Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick in a keynote speech on
US-China relations in Washington on September 21 last year, were
included in the Quadrennial Defense Review released in
February and the National Security Strategy Report
published in March.
The official adoption of these two words indicates the US
government is putting finishing touches on its new China strategy.
Like a coin with two sides, the new strategy, on the one hand,
expects China to be a 'responsible stakeholder' and will see to it
that America accepts and integrates China as such into its global
agenda, while, on the other hand, making sure China's rise will not
challenge its global and regional interests.
Within this general framework, the political relations between
China and the US have made noticeable headway.
First of all, the two heads of state have met several times,
helping keep the strategic relations between the two countries
stable.
Although Chinese President Hu Jintao's official US visit was postponed due
to Hurricane Katrina, their other meetings all went through as
scheduled without a hitch. For instance, their brief informal
meeting last September in New York on the sidelines of the UN 60th
anniversary summit went very well.
When President Hu makes his first official visit to the US this
week since taking office, the whole world will be watching intently
this important event of international politics. There is no doubt
the two heads of state will hammer out the strategic framework for
further development of a healthy and peaceful bilateral
relationship between China and the US.
Second, strategic dialogue is going deeper. Compared to the
first round, the second round of strategic dialogue, held on
December 7-8 in Washington, began cutting into the strategic issues
about which both sides are most concerned, covering topics from the
definition of the term 'stakeholder' to how both sides should
accept each other's presence in the Asia-Pacific region. They
discussed almost everything of interest in their bilateral
relations.
This kind of candid and open style of dialogue played an
irreplaceable role in nurturing mutual trust and dissolving
suspicion between the two countries. The fact that China and the US
can conduct such regular dialogues shows their bilateral ties are
maturing.
Third, exchanges between the military of both countries are back
on track. Upon concluding his three-day China visit on October 20,
2005, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that he had
learned a lot and had been deeply impressed by what he had seen on
that visit. His view on China's quickening pace in defense
modernization also changed from 'not understandable' to
'understandable' after his visit, though he insisted the host had a
long way to go toward military transparency.
Finally, broad exchanges between the two nations in other areas
are also under way. Among such exchanges, the most eye-catching is
the 'Chinese Culture Month' held in Washington last October with
great fanfare.
Looking the other way, many US members of Congress have visited
China in a series of delegations in recent months, marking another
highlight in the development of Sino-US ties. Some of those
American legislators admitted they knew little about China before
joining tours, which were the very first for quite a few of them.
Their visits would help reinforce the foundation of China-US
relations.
All the above, however, cannot replace the negative side of
bilateral relations, parts of which are in fact growing. Of the
negative developments, none is more prominent than the trade
disputes, which are really caused by 'unequal' political relations
rather than by trade 'disparity'. The fact that the US has
consistently allowed its domestic politics, its ideological
prejudice against China, its own idea of values and the deep-set
political desire to dominate international affairs to supersede
fairness is what prevents a speedy solution to the trade
frictions.
Meanwhile, the same inequality is also fomenting on such issues
as human rights and religious freedom.
Then there is the Taiwan question, which has become a key focus
in China-US relations again following the subtle maneuvering by the
US,?the mainland and Taiwan over Chen Shui-bian's
nullification of Taiwan's 'National Unification Guidelines'.
What will become of the China-US relationship? Is there more
room for its development? We can certainly expect a clearer answer
to each of the questions during President Hu's upcoming visit.
Any further and substantial progress of bilateral ties from now
on requires forward-looking political wisdom based on critical
analysis of the past, which would enable both sides to explore new
areas and deeper space for cooperation. The following four areas of
cooperation should point out the direction for both sides.
Strategic cooperation
By this I mean the kind of cooperation that goes beyond specific
affairs and the realm of bilateral ties, the kind that demands
communication over major international issues of far-reaching
significance and mutual interest and eventually leads to
teamwork.
Regional cooperation
For this the first thing the two countries need to do is to
establish coexistence, mutual acceptance and mutual prosperity on
the stage that both are developing on the Asia-Pacific region.
China is an Asia-Pacific nation, while the US has major strategic
interests in the region. It has become an unavoidable issue as to
how the two countries should prevent future standoffs as a result
of China's development.
Cooperation on energy resources
The US and China are the top two consumers of energy resources
in the world and are thus bound to cooperate in this area. Such
cooperation includes mutual study and absorption of each other's
energy policies, cooperation in related technology, including
nuclear energy, and cooperation in energy strategy. If the two
countries succeed in such cooperation, it would not only enhance
strategic mutual trust between them but also contribute positively
to global energy assurance and security.
Cooperation in unconventional areas
The characteristics of the new millennium are speeding up the
substitution of conventional security challenges by unconventional
ones as one of the most urgent issues facing the world today.
Cooperation on such security issues not only suits the
characteristics of our times, but also enjoys the bonus of less
restraints by ideological and political concerns. Such cooperation
has so much room for development that, if well managed, it would
serve as a new cornerstone for the lasting and steady development
of Sino-US relations.
The author is a researcher with the China Institute of
Contemporary International Relations.
(China Daily April 17, 2006)
