China and the US should keep their eyes on "vital stakes" rather
than "conflicts" to seek a bright future for bilateral relations, a
former senior US official said yesterday in Beijing.
Predictions of inevitable conflict as Beijing's rise collides
with American dominance can become self-fulfilling prophecies, said
James A. Baker, US secretary of state under president George H.W.
Bush from 1989 to 1992.
"For American policy-makers to view any expansion of China's
role in world affairs as somehow 'sinister' will only produce
misunderstanding and mistrust that would complicate the
Sino-American relationship," Baker said when delivering a speech to
the US-China Business Council.
"Such an analysis seriously underestimates the broad areas -
economic and strategic - where Chinese and American interests
converge," Baker said.
Issues where Chinese and American interests converge extend well
beyond trade and investment; they also include energy, security in
Northeast Asia and climate change, according to Baker.
"Should Washington and Beijing slip into confrontation,
everybody will lose - and not just the people of China and the
United States," he said.
"The consequences in terms of instability would be felt
throughout Asia and on a truly global level. It would be nothing
less than tragic were the world, after emerging from one Cold War,
plunge into another."
Baker suggested managing bilateral relations will also demand
firm and courageous political leadership on both sides of the
Pacific.
"Leaders in Washington and Beijing must be prepared to confront
powerful domestic constituencies as they seek to keep bilateral
relations on an even keel. And they must be willing, in crises, to
mute their rhetoric, sustain a dialogue, and seek compromise."
Baker is on a China visit in the capacity of a senior partner at
Baker Botts LLP, an international law firm headquartered in the
US.
(China Daily September 14, 2007)
