Scholar predicts talks with Obama will direct future
President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States next month is expected to be a milestone in building a new type of major country relationship, said Su Ge, president of the China Institute of International Studies.
Xi, at the invitation of U.S. President Barack Obama, will make his first state visit to the U.S. amid profound changes in the international situation, Sino-U.S. relations and China's domestic reforms.
Su, in a speech at the Chinese Consulate General in New York on Thursday, said that the meeting of the two leaders will be a key juncture because the consensus that emerges on the future direction of peace, development and cooperation, along with ways of managing differences, will have far-reaching importance for bilateral relations, the Pacific region and the world.
Su said the U.S. rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region is a major shift of emphasis in American international strategy from anti-terrorism to dealing with challenges posed by emerging powers.
He said U.S.-China relations have become more complicated.
"Third party factors" (other countries in the South China Sea region) have interfered with China-U.S. relations or influenced American foreign policy, he said.
Moreover, with the U.S. presidential election next year, candidates have regularly discussed China, particularly in terms of the competition for jobs. American concerns also include the South China Sea, cybersecurity, China's domestic legal reform and "human rights".
Some Americans fear China's Belt and Road Initiative and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are designed to challenge the American-led international order, Su said.
Su stressed that China and the U.S. should increase strategic trust and avoid miscalculation. The relationship between the top two economies in the world, which are also members of the UN Security Council, is vital for world affairs.
Su noted that the proposal for a new type of relationship between China and the U.S. is benign and good-willed: with "no confrontation" as the bottom line; "mutual respect" as the basis; and "win-win" as the objective.
Su also called for more coordination in global governance. The Belt and Road Initiative and AIIB are open and inclusive, he said.
Both sides may discuss ways and means regarding maritime cooperation, cybersecurity and other issues of concern, including climate change and disease control.
"With regards to the new normal of bilateral relations, both sides probably need proper adaptation to it," said Su. "Both need to have more understanding and tolerance."
