Related News
Home » Opinion » Foreign Views
China, US urged to develop positives
February 11, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
EDITOR'S note:
This is the third and final part of an article adapted from the author's presentation to the Shanghai Institute of International Studies on February 6. The views are his own.
Richard H. Solomon
What can be done to maximize the benefits of normal Sino-American relations - much less minimize prospects for a return to confrontation?
First is the necessity to confront the primary source of economic tension - the shared concern with "jobs, jobs, jobs."
The specific issues currently on the bilateral economic agenda affect jobs in both countries.
There are a number of well-institutionalized bilateral and international fora and dispute-management procedures for dealing with these issues - most notably the annual US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
Cooperation can be built on the basis of shared interest in sustaining access to foreign markets and capital, protecting intellectual property, promoting direct investment in both directions....
Both the US and China need an open international trading environment. And over time China will slowly make the transition from a development strategy of export-led growth to an economy with heightened domestic household consumption.
For its part, America has to invest more at home, do so intelligently, consume less, and generate the political will to manage, on a bipartisan basis, our fiscal challenges.
Not zero sum
The second element of managing the US-China relationship should be the construction of a positive agenda of economic and security cooperation: energy security; access to raw materials; countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism; sea lane security; the impact of climate change; global health threats, etc. These and many other issues ... cannot be dealt with as "we win-you lose," zero-sum challenges.
China and the United States today are capable of reshaping this new international environment to mutual benefit.
We are now locked into a relationship of economic interdependence, and we still have common security concerns.
The United States, in its own interest, has supported China's modernization.
Yet we have significant differences that limit cooperation.
The US administration of President Barack Obama is now "rebalancing" the US presence in the Asia-Pacific - a region critical to America's economic and security interests.
But as history tells us, "equilibrium" or "balance" - if not well managed - can degenerate into confrontation. Thus, there is risk that we could again become adversaries.
Only as leaders in both Beijing and Washington work to develop the positive factors in the relationship - while managing the areas of conflict - can they avoid the great costs that would come with a return to confrontation. This is the great contemporary challenge of managing US-China relations.
The author is president of the United States Institute of Peace.
This is the third and final part of an article adapted from the author's presentation to the Shanghai Institute of International Studies on February 6. The views are his own.
Richard H. Solomon
What can be done to maximize the benefits of normal Sino-American relations - much less minimize prospects for a return to confrontation?
First is the necessity to confront the primary source of economic tension - the shared concern with "jobs, jobs, jobs."
The specific issues currently on the bilateral economic agenda affect jobs in both countries.
There are a number of well-institutionalized bilateral and international fora and dispute-management procedures for dealing with these issues - most notably the annual US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
Cooperation can be built on the basis of shared interest in sustaining access to foreign markets and capital, protecting intellectual property, promoting direct investment in both directions....
Both the US and China need an open international trading environment. And over time China will slowly make the transition from a development strategy of export-led growth to an economy with heightened domestic household consumption.
For its part, America has to invest more at home, do so intelligently, consume less, and generate the political will to manage, on a bipartisan basis, our fiscal challenges.
Not zero sum
The second element of managing the US-China relationship should be the construction of a positive agenda of economic and security cooperation: energy security; access to raw materials; countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism; sea lane security; the impact of climate change; global health threats, etc. These and many other issues ... cannot be dealt with as "we win-you lose," zero-sum challenges.
China and the United States today are capable of reshaping this new international environment to mutual benefit.
We are now locked into a relationship of economic interdependence, and we still have common security concerns.
The United States, in its own interest, has supported China's modernization.
Yet we have significant differences that limit cooperation.
The US administration of President Barack Obama is now "rebalancing" the US presence in the Asia-Pacific - a region critical to America's economic and security interests.
But as history tells us, "equilibrium" or "balance" - if not well managed - can degenerate into confrontation. Thus, there is risk that we could again become adversaries.
Only as leaders in both Beijing and Washington work to develop the positive factors in the relationship - while managing the areas of conflict - can they avoid the great costs that would come with a return to confrontation. This is the great contemporary challenge of managing US-China relations.
The author is president of the United States Institute of Peace.
- 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.
