How to reduce tensions in Sino-US relationship
Print Edition
chinese VIEWS
Negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between the US and China continue to move forward following the finalization of text negotiations in March.
With much of the work now focused on the crafting of “negative lists” on both sides, this important treaty could mark a milestone in Sino-US relations.
Allen Matusow, director of academic affairs at the Baker Institute, spoke recently about the need for cooperation between China and the US — even during times of tensions — at a seminar hosted by Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) on June 17.
“Clearly our economies are dependant on each other; clearly we have a lot of common interests when facing global problems. So there are reasons to cooperate,” he said. “But there are also sources of conflict.”
For example, the US has played a strong oppositional role against China’s legitimate South China Sea policy on many occasions. On cyber security issues some American officials recently claimed that attacks from China lead to the leakage of 4 million Federal officials’ personal information. China strongly responded to these issues.
According to Matusow such tensions could influence election-season politics in the US next year. “Some people in the US believe ... the purpose of China is to replace the Americans as the global leader and become a global leader itself.”
“So in 2016 you can expect the Republican Party, which has been dominated by conservatives, to exploit the widespread fear of China and to bash China. At the same time you can expect Democrats, who are always fearful of looking weak, to compete with Republicans in China bashing.”
High-level exchanges
Shao Yuqun, director of the Center for American Studies, SIIS, later echoed Matusow’s views about the atmosphere surrounding many of the features of the US-China relationship.
“Now we have the dialogue in DC and then in the coming September President Xi Jinping will pay his first state visit to the US,” Shao said.
Shao was referencing the seventh China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the sixth China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, events held in Washington yesterday and today between high-level officials from the Chinese and American government.
“Some of these events are very important, but the question is whether they can change the whole atmosphere and play a role in smoothing the bilateral relationship within the context of the US presidential elections,” she said.
“I think one of the most important policies of the Obama administration is what we have called the rebalancing policy that has seen (the US military) shift from the Middle East to the Pacific region. The understanding on the Chinese side is that this is a military redeployment. By 2025 or 2030, the US could have 60 percent of its ships deployed in the Asia Pacific region,” she continued. “The second issue is the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) ... the third issue is the US alliances in the Asia Pacific region. I think the military redeployment and the strengthening of its alliances here in the Asia Pacific are seen very negatively by the Chinese. We don’t like these two parts of the US policy. With regard to TPP, though right now we are not a member of TPP, we are advocating the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), but sooner or later it’s a shared goal for the US and China to integrate into regional economic cooperation.
“Of the challenges here, I think the most important one for the US is whether the US can really respect China’s development — which would mean respecting China’s ideology and our political system.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
