2010-05-21 09:45

John Delury, deputy director at the US-China Relations Research Center of Asia Society, said that US-China relations are currently quiet but "we must see that there are many problems remain unsolved between the two countries." If not handled properly, the problems will surface again.

Therefore, the two countries should seize this round of dialogue as an opportunity to enhance cooperation and build trust as much as possible.

Consensus Is the Key

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, under the strategic track of the second S&ED, both sides will have in-depth discussions on bilateral ties, and regional and global issues.

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Consultations between relevant agencies of the two countries will also be held on issues such as energy security, climate change, U.N. peacekeeping and counterterrorism.

Assistant Minister of Chinese Ministry of Finance Zhu Guangyao told reporters that the economic track of the dialogue will focus on four issues: promoting economic recovery and balanced economic growth; promoting mutually beneficial trade and investment while opposing trade protectionism; financial market stability and reform; reforming the international financial system.

Chen Fengying, a fellow at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said the US needs to take substantial steps to relax control on exports to China.

The real issue behind the debate on the Chinese yuan exchange rate is the issue of macroeconomic policy adjustment in China and the United States, and both countries need to change their economic growth modes to achieve economic re-balancing, she said.

Smith said this round of dialogue may involve issues such as China's independent innovation policy, the yuan exchange rate, Internet security and how to conduct concrete cooperation on clean energy technologies.

The United States and China may have different views on the issues, but the key is to resolve conflicts through cooperation and put strategic interests of both nations at the first place.

Tao said that disagreement between the two countries is a normal thing. More importantly, generally speaking, common interests are far greater than differences in their relations.

Beijing hopes to deepen mutual understanding and enhance strategic mutual trust with Washington through the dialogue, so that the they will be able to strengthen consultation and coordination whenever problems arise in the future and so that differences will have less negative effects on the bilateral ties.

The first S&ED was a success, and hopefully the second round of talks will also be able to yield similar positive results.