President Xi Jinping talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Beijng, May 17, 2015. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Of course, the security issues concerning the South China Sea needed to be discussed as well to improve mutual understanding and downplay fears and suspicions, so Kerry also met with Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Fan Changlong. Fan set out the well-known Chinese position on the South China Sea and asked Kerry to do more to work to develop mutual trust between China and the U.S. to foster regional peace and stability. Kerry assured the Chinese side that the U.S. government would resolutely avoid taking sides on the South China Sea issue, assuring Fan that certain provocative reports in the U.S. media did not reflect any political decision by the U.S. government. He agreed that steps to build mutual confidence in this field were vital, pointing to practical cooperation in fighting pirates, humanitarian aid and the creation of confidence-building measures like rules for the safe handling of air and maritime encounters.

It is always essential to ensure that differences are not over-emphasized in such an important relationship. Much has been made of the fact that the U.S. has so far shown itself disinclined to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. This decision probably owes more to U.S. internal politics than to suspicion of China. In any case, it is not a disaster: the existence of various organizations working in parallel can make for healthy competition that could lead to potential improvements to the efficiency of all parties. There does not need to be destructive rivalry among the various development organizations.

But what the world and the developing world in particular need most is scientific and technological progress and innovation, and one of the world's greatest engines of this is the practical China-U.S. academic relationship. The number of students from the Chinese mainland enrolled in higher education in the U.S. is currently around 250,000, and this number is rising. This is more than a quarter of the total number of international students in the U.S. The U.S.-China academic relationship is probably the single most promising area for cooperation in the world of modern science. China has long been the top international collaborator for U.S. research programs, and about half of Chinese research collaborations with foreign individuals or institutions are conducted with American academics. This cooperation is now of such a massive benefit to both countries that it amounts to virtual co-dependence. This is almost a guarantee that Cold War thinking is unlikely to prevail in either country.

And so, despite the media circus, Kerry's visit showed that the U.S.-China relationship still has a solid foundation. The stepping-stones towards a new framework for the bilateral relationship are already laid out: both sides are already working to prepare for the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue in June in advance of President Xi' s state visit in September.

The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/timcollard.htm

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