US

Visit that will light a path toward a more cooperative relationship

Updated: 2011-01-17 10:50

By Tan Yingzi (China Daily)

Twitter Facebook Myspace Yahoo! Linkedin Mixx

Visit that will light a path toward a more cooperative relationship

WASHINGTON - President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States this week is expected to send strong signals that the two countries will work toward positive, cooperative and comprehensive ties.

Invited by US President Barack Obama, Hu will pay a four-day visit to Washington and Chicago from Jan 18-21. It will be his second state visit to the US since 2006. And it will be the eighth summit between the two leaders in the two years.

The visit comes as China and the US stand at a crossroad to determine the path to their relationship, and at a time when there are doubts and fears in China and the US about the bilateral relations: Whether the US is trying to contain China's rise or the Chinese are going to kick the Americans from the world leader position.

Before the visit, diplomats from Beijing and Washington gave positive signals and laid out solid grounds for efficient and fruitful communications.

Hu's visit will promote stable and strengthened ties between the two nations and lay out a far-reaching impact for bilateral relations, Chinese ambassador to the US Zhang Yesui said over the weekend.

"President Hu's visit will lift the ties to a higher level," he told Chinese media.

Last week, the Obama administration used speeches by State Secretary Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to explain what they see as the stakes for Hu's visit.

On Friday, Clinton laid out the US strategy on relations with China, reaffirming that the US welcomes China as a rising power.

The US will embed the relationship with China within a broader regional framework in the Asia-Pacific region, build up more bilateral trust and expand the cooperation to address the shared challenges, she said.

"Today we have a positive relationship with China and the chance for a very positive future," Clinton said.

"The United States welcomes China as a rising power. We welcome China's efforts not only to lift their own people out of poverty, but to export prosperity and opportunity."

After a cheerful start in 2009 highlighted by Obama's state visit to China, there were long periods of tension between the two countries last year.

As predicted by many analysts, due to the sluggish US economic recovery from the global financial crisis and the fierce competition for the midterm elections, Washington adopted a harder line toward China.

The relationship wasn't helped by Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama, a $6 billion US arms sales to Taiwan, disagreements on Chinese currency appreciation, continued trade frictions and a series of regional security issues, such as over the South China Sea, Yellow Sea and the Korean Peninsula.

But thanks to the joint efforts of both sides to secure one of the world's most important bilateral relationships, ties have warmed up through the unprecedented number of high-level meetings held recently.

"Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979, bilateral ties have experienced stable development and achieved great progress," Zhang said.

"We have more common interests than differences."

The ties are strengthened by vast economic cooperation, educational and cultural exchanges, and common challenges regarding regional and global issues.

The annual trade volume between China and the US has reached more than $400 billion. China is second-largest trading partner of the US, the largest source of imports and the largest export market for US goods outside North America.

About 130,000 Chinese students are in the US, making China the country's largest source of foreign students.

The two countries have been working closely on global issues, such as climate change, nuclear nonproliferation and rebalancing the world economy since the 2008 global financial crisis.

But it is not strange to see China and the US holding different views on some issues due to the differences in their political systems, culture, history and social development, Zhang said.

"The key is to respect and take care of each other's core interests and major concerns, and we must solve the problems through dialogue and consultation on an equal footing."

Douglas Paal, vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the two leaders should address the fears of the two peoples.

"It's a simple thing for President Obama, during the course of this visit, to reiterate that the United States has no intention of containing China," he said.

"On the other hand, Americans need some reassurance that China understands that the international system within which China is now prospering is one that is worth preserving."

Stapleton Roy, director of Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, said one challenge for US-China relationship is that there's an asymmetry in the way that is viewed in each country and Hu's visit is expected to restore the positive and cooperative aspect of the relationship.

Lu Chang and Zheng Yangpeng contribute to this story.

China Daily

Specials

President Hu visits the US

President Hu Jintao is on a state visit to the US from Jan 18 to 21.

Ancient life

The discovery of the fossile of a female pterosaur nicknamed as Mrs T and her un-laid egg are shedding new light on ancient mysteries.

Economic Figures

China's GDP growth jumped 10.3 percent year-on-year in 2010, boosted by a faster-than-expected 9.8 percent expansion in the fourth quarter.

2011 postgraduate entrance exam
Pet businesses
Critics call for fraud case to be reopened