Ambassador Cui: 'History shows we are better together'

The crucial Party Congress, scheduled to open on Wednesday in Beijing, will widen and strengthen the exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States and the rest of the world, Beijing's top envoy to Washington, Cui Tiankai, said on Tuesday.

"History shows we are better together," the Chinese Ambassador to the US wrote in an article published on USA Today's website on Tuesday. "Let's foster a relationship rooted in mutual respect and cooperation, not of confrontation and conflict."

Cui's opinion piece appeared a day after the White House announced US President Donald Trump will visit China on Nov 8, and a day before Beijing convenes the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in which Chinese leaders will review the country's efforts over the past five years and draw a blueprint for domestic and international agendas for the next five years and beyond.

"While the outlook for our nation is closely connected to the future of the world, I believe the Party Congress will open up new prospects for, and add new impetus to, the exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world, including the US," Cui wrote.

Citing Harvard professor Graham Allison's research that in the past 500 years, emerging powers have ended up in conflicts with established powers 12 times while only avoiding conflict four times, Cui said, "Anxiety about history repeating itself, with a conflict erupting between the United States and China, has increased in the past years."

However, Cui said that conflict is not inevitable.

Since the end of World War II, major principles enshrined in the United Nations charter - such as equal sovereignty, international cooperation and collective security - have enabled a new world order that relies on norms and rules rather than wars and conflicts, he wrote.

"Today's world is profoundly and increasingly interconnected by unprecedented globalization," Cui wrote. "The zero-sum mentality is outdated, and it is misleading to interpret the relationship between China and the US through the lens of the power-shifting theory."

China has put forward its own ideas, namely to nurture a fair and just world order, to foster a new model relationship with the US, and to build an international community with a shared future. These ideas aim to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people, he said.

China believes that global governance should be a joint effort, in which the interests of all parties are met through win-win cooperation. The key to improving global governance is enhancing representation and lending a voice to emerging markets and developing countries, Cui wrote.

"We realize that China's future is inextricably tied to the health and well-being of the world, and the US is an invaluable component," he said.

"The historical mission of our two countries is not the transfer of global dominance from one to the other, a misperception, which if allowed to persist, can lead to confrontation. We believe that China and the US should commit ourselves to fostering a new type of major-country relationship rooted in mutual respect and cooperation, rather than confrontation and conflict."

Cui recalled that China and the US stood together in the international financial crisis and worked together for the world economic recovery.

"It should be well understood that cooperation is the only path, and problems should be solved through extensive collaboration," Cui wrote. "A sound and robust relationship will benefit not only the Chinese and American peoples, but also world peace, stability and prosperity."

Cui also wrote that over the past year, the presidents of the two countries have maintained dialogue through meetings, telephone conversations and letters, setting the tone for China-US relations.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com