An Era Calling for a New-type Major Country Relationship Between China and the U.S.

By ZHANG XUDONG

An Era Calling for a New-type Major Country Relationship Between China and the U.S.

By ZHANG XUDONG

CHINESE President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama resumed their round of meetings with their latest meeting at the end of September 2015. This was their third summit following their meetings at Sunnylands，California and evening talks at Yingtai，Beijing. If the week President Nixon spent in China was “a week that changed the world，” then the week during which President Xi paid a state visit to the U.S. and attended UN conferences may be called “a week that will shape the future.”

Reaffirming a New-type Major Country Relationship

“Realizing a new model of major country relationship with the United States that features non-conflict，nonconfrontation，mutual respect and win-win cooperation is the priority of China's foreign policy.” President Xi on September 24，2015 thus reaffirmed the consensus reached at his first meeting with President Obama in 2013. For his part，President Obama indicated his rejection of the notion of the so-called “Thucydides Trap” that renders confict inevitable between an incumbent power and a rival emerging nation.

For both China and the U.S.，the strategic decisions they direct toward each other are of the frst importance for peace and stability in the world. Athens and Sparta became embroiled in endless conficts over security concerns. Peace generally becomes a sacrifice when major countries seek security，while calamitous wars often accompany a shift in the center of gravity of world power. In this age of interdependency and globalization，in the interests of the two peoples and the future of larger humanity，neither China nor the U.S. may allow historical mistakes to recur in our nuclear-armed era. To this end，President Obama stressed that major countries - especially China and the U.S. - must strive to avert conficts. U.S. decision-makers have repeatedly reaffirmed that both the U.S. and China are able to manage their differences，and declared that competition between the two countries is constructive and positive. Vice President Biden characterized U.S.-China rivalry as a “healthy competitive relationship.” Furthermore，American leaders remain consistent in their attitude towards China's rise，namely，that a stable and prosperous China is in the interests of all parties.

Noteworthy is that two heads of state held a threehour meeting at Blair House，where Xi stayed during his D.C. visit. Obama reiterated that “As the world is moving to multi-polarization，emerging countries like China should gain a greater voice and be better represented in the international system. The U.S. expects China to play a more significant role in the world.” Since the establishment of diplomatic relations，the Republican and Democratic parties have maintained a generally unwavering direction in their policies towards China，and this has greatly contributed to the generally stable bilateral relationship. This historical experience can also apply in the current and future relationship between the two countries. As Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated at the 14th Lanting Forum in mid-September，“We hope that people may hold such expectations that whatever may change at home，both sides will stay on track in building a new model of major country relationship and，whatever problems may crop up in the relationship，both sides will respect each other，enhance trust，reduce misgivings and seek common ground，while eliminating differences，to maintain the healthy and steady growth of the bilateral relationship. Whatever issues and challenges the international community may confront，the two sides will strengthen cooperation in order to safeguard world peace and promote the development of humankind.”

“Coming to the water's end，I sit watching clouds ascend.” With this line from Tang poet Wang Wei's poem President Xi conveyed his view at the White House welcoming ceremony that the Sino-U.S. relationship has reached a new and historic starting point in the 21st century，with win-win cooperation as the only viable option for the two nations. This assessment will prove of seminal infuence in the future development of the bilateral relationship.

Avenue to a New-type Major Country Relationship

On the question of how to construct the new-type major country relationship and manage disparities on various hot-button issues，President Xi elaborated the Chinese government's stance and policy，so as to meet the three targets projected for the visit： frst，clarify the concepts of China's peaceful development and win-win cooperation； second，make clear that cooperation benefts both countries，while confrontation can only injure each；and，third，assuage American concerns over conficts arising with China on such issues as，e.g. the current international system and order in the Asia-Pacifc region.

This will require，above all，persistence in promoting strategic mutual trust between the two countries which is the most effective means of confict avoidance. The predicate for this inheres in correctly judging each other's strategic intentions. There are three pivotal immutable tenets in China's strategy. One is to frmly implement the basic policy of the state，namely，the policy of reform and opening-up. China will therefore escalate to even higher levels to provide an open environment for foreign investors. Two，the road of peaceful development must not be forsaken. China will never pursue hegemony，but will rather continue to preserve the peace and stability of the world. It will，however，steadfastly safeguard its sovereignty，security and development. In this regard，the U.S. side reiterated its adherence to the “one-China” policy，and averred that the U.S. will not support separatist demands with regard to Taiwan，Tibet and Xinjiang，nor intervene in the Hong Kong issue. Three，China reaffrmed that it is the benefactor of，participant in，guardian and builder of，and contributor to the current international order and system，so China will not simply discard the current system for a new one. Rather，it will drive it to develop in a fairer，more just direction. As to the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that have both attracted U.S. attention，China attests that it is actively creating and sharing opportunities for development in a bold attempt to provide public goods with its own experience and capabilities，and anticipates breaking out of the bottleneck of the current system. All of these recitals demonstrate that Xi's visit will help enhance trust and reduce misgivings between China and the United States.

Second is to promote win-win cooperation. At theWhite House welcoming ceremony，President Xi remarked that cooperation between the two countries will produce a “one plus one can equal more than two” effect，while President Obama also indicated at the welcome banquet that the U.S. and China should expand cooperation that will benefit both. Their bilateral cooperation occupies a solid foundation，especially in business and trade. In 36 years following the establishment of diplomatic relationship，bilateral trade volume has totaled US $550 billion，and total investment has amounted to US $120 billion. It is estimated that，in 2022，China will become the world's largest importer，and China and the U.S. will be one another's biggest trade partners. By then，U.S. exports to China are expected to surpass US $530 billion，creating about 3.4 million jobs； while China's investment in the U.S. is likely to surpass US $200 billion，creating four million jobs. With regard to the current status of the Chinese economy，Xi indicated that the fundamentals are still sound and the country is capable of maintaining stable and relatively fast development. He added that China will address the immediate needs of ensuring steady growth，facilitating reform，plying structural adjustment，and also prioritize improving the people's standards of living，averting risks and exercising preventive and innovative macro-control，which he believes will continue to provide enough leeway for mutually benefcial China-U.S. economic cooperation.

The Bilateral Investment Treaty （BIT），a highlighted topic this year，has so far realized substantial progress. After updating their negative list，negotiations will drive forward with the backing of both countries' leaders. This support is anticipated to propel economic cooperation to new heights. Further，the Eighth China-U.S. Internet Industry Forum held in Seattle demonstrates that the elements of technology and innovation form another bright spot in bilateral economic cooperation and give impetus to cooperation in IT and business. Greater cooperation in energy and infrastructure has also steadily advanced. It also warrants mention that the two countries renewed their statements on climate change，vowing to propel wider and more effective cooperation throughout the globe in energy-saving and emissions reduction at the upcoming Paris Conference on climate change. In this vein，China and the U.S. have taken the lead in committing to emissions reduction to set an example for the world's emulation. China，moreover，announced its establishment of a carbon emission trading mechanism. The First Session of the U.S.-China Climate-Smart/Low-Carbon Cities Summit convened in mid-September in Los Angeles offered one of meaningful measures and examples of the suffcient scope for cooperation in addressing challenges to the globe. China，moreover，released its 49-point outcome list，which denoted Xi's U.S. visit as a journey to promote cooperation.

The two heads of state hold in-depth discussions in Washington D.C. on September 25，2015.

Third，control differences properly and effectively. At present，China and the U.S. differ over several issues，and these affect the healthy development of bilateral relations to a degree. During the summit meetings，the heads of the two countries conducted particularly in-depth discussions of these issues. President Xi introduced China's principles and stance，as well as its efforts to seek a political convergence for the two countries to narrow differences，promote cooperation，and resolve any disagreements arising over，e.g. the South China Sea. China and the U.S. harbor similar policy targets and strategies，such as the two countries have backed the following fve baselines： maintaining stability in the South China Sea； all nations directly involved resolve disputes through peaceful negotiation； all nations enjoy the freedom of navigation and over-flight as per international laws； control disparities through dialogues； support the full and effective implementation of the “Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea，”and completion the negotiation of the Code of the Conduct in the South China Sea on the basis of consultation and consensus as soon as possible. With so many similarities，China and the U.S.，only if maintaining close negotiation，can resolve disparities and promote lasting stability and cooperation in this area. Another example is cyber-security. One thing should be clarifed for China and the U.S. is that confrontation is a wrong option. On this basis，both sides can jointly combat cybercrime by ensuring not knowingly engaging in or support stealing business secrets or intellectual properties via the Internet. Both countries should promote the formulation of code on state actions in cyberspace，strengthen bilateral dialogue and cooperation and establish a hotline and gradually resolve the disputes in this regard，so as to create a peaceful，secure，open and cooperative cyberspace which is just what China calling for. The aforementioned cases are footnotes of Xi's visit as a journey for creating the future.

President Xi greets crowds at the welcome ceremony on the White House lawn on September 25，2015.

People-to-People Friendship Lays Solid Foundation

President Xi revisited Tacoma in the U.S. state of Washington，site of a former visit 21 years ago. He met old friends as well as making new ones. He reviewed a chorus in Lincoln High School performed jointly by American students and visiting Chinese students from the Middle School Affliated to Fuzhou Institute of Education. The songs In the Field of Hope and What a Wonderful World aptly embodied the friendship between the people of the two countries，and also the exchange between Tacoma and Fuzhou that forged their sister-city relationship 21 years ago. Now，31 Chinese provinces have established friendship relations with 50 U.S. states，and 200 cities have established sister-city ties with American cities. This civil diplomatic development has provided huge opportunities for cooperation at the local level. The Third China-U.S. Governors Forum in September 2015，themed with “Clean Energy and Economic Development，” coincided with bilateral cooperation in the climate change. It will play a key role in implementing cooperative agreements reached by the two countries，and better promote the construction of environmentally-friendly，sustainable societies.

The peoples of both nations are endowed with greatness. The friendship between them goes beyond borders，ages，differences and history. A few months after the offcial establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations，the frst liner Liulinhai arrived in Seattle from China，which closed the era of no navigational links and dredged a new channel for bilateral trade. Washington State still leads the nation in its trade with China. The Chinese people will never forget how，after the catastrophic Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008，pupils in Pierce County，WA sent over 800 letters and cards to children in the stricken area to convey their condolence and offer their encouragement. People will likewise never forget the contributions of Chinese immigrants to American economic and social development and bilateral relations. They have spanned a special bridge between the two countries. Over 150 years ago，workers from China participated in railway construction in the Western U.S.，facilitating the development of this area. During the Second World War，Chinese immigrants actively donated to support China's fight against Japan's aggression. Following the advent of the policy of reform and opening-up in the late 1970s，Chinese Americans have made signal contributions to China's subsequent development. Chinese Americans，while further integrating into U.S. society，continue to make notable contributions to the prosperity of China，as well as the new-type major country relationship between China and the U.S.

During his stay in the U.S.，President Xi averred that we would leave a better China-U.S. relationship to our children. Youth exchanges are vital to attaining this end. Xi said that in the next three years China will sponsor 50，000 students from both sides to study in the other country. Meanwhile，the U.S. advocates that a million students study the Chinese language by the end of 2020. Furthermore，China and the U.S. will designate 2016 the “Year of Tourism.” These beneficial policies will inevitably foster mutual understanding among people，especially the youth generation. The preceding demonstrates that Xi's visit is a journey of friendship to the people.

“The time is always right to do what is right，” said Dr. Martin Luther King，Jr. China and the U.S. must both give full effect to the consensus reached during this visit，and forge the bilateral relationship into a model major country relationship in the 21st century. In addition，China and the U.S. may further explore the path of winwin cooperation，and redouble their cooperation in such areas as implementing the Post-2015 Development Agenda，poverty reduction and support for the development of less-developed countries，women's rights，reform of the UN，and world peacekeeping.

ZHANG XUDONG is an assistant research fellow of the Center for U.S.-China Relations，Tsinghua University.