The US Treasury Department's envoy for China and Strategic
Economic Dialogue (SED) Alan Holmer said Wednesday that the US and
China should build up a cooperative, constructive and candid
relations, noting that direct dialogues can keep the bilateral
relationship on an even level by lessening miscommunication and
dispelling misperceptions.
According to Holmer, he is visiting China for preparations for
the upcoming US-China SED to be held in mid December in Beijing.
The SED would specifically focus on trade integrity, balanced
economic development, energy conservation, financial sector reform,
environmental sustainability, and advancing bilateral investment.
Product safety would be a new topic for the two countries this
year.
Holmer, appointed as the envoy in February this year, has
conducted visit to many parts of China, including Beijing,
Shanghai, Shenyang, Qinghai, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen
and Hongkong as well as some rural areas.
"I am deeply impressed with China's dynamism, creativity and
diversity", and the visits helped him to "see the depths of the
challenges you face in promoting balanced, harmonious growth", said
Holmer.
Holmer said the US-China economic relationship is entering a new
phase, since the bilateral economic interdependence is deepening,
the trade and investment are now increasingly a source of tension
and the tension is straining the domestic consensus in both
countries on the benefits of economic engagement, and the economic
protectionism is on a rise, adding that it requires cooperative
solutions for these issues.
Holmer said there is hardly any issue from trade, to national
security, to climate change or a place from North Korea to Iran to
Sudan, where the American and Chinese interests do not increasingly
overlap.
The US hoped that the more officials from different departments
of the two governments could have more interactions and discuss
issues of a wide spectrum including the regulatory transparency,
energy conservation, environmental protection, innovation, food and
product safety, as well as important economic issues of exchange
rate and macro economic policies, market access, and financial
sector development and liberalization, Holmer said.
Holmer commented the SED as long term in its vision,
comprehensive in its scope and immediate in its ability to deal
with sensitive bilateral economic tensions, noting that the US has
three core objectives for the SED, such as establishing new habits
of cooperation, accelerating China's economic transition, and
encouraging China's responsible global engagement.
"I learned a long time ago that if you are going to be
successful in any kind of dialogue, it is essential that you do
everything you can to put yourself in the other person's shoes, to
try to see the world the way he or she does. This is the way you
achieve win-win agreements, ones that advance mutual interests,
agreements that will withstand the tests of time. The SED embraces
this approach," Holmer said.
(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2007)
