China, US to benefit from deeper co-op in next decade

China and the United States can mutually benefit from deeper economic relations in the next decade along with US economic recovery and booming Chinese middle class, said a bilateral study released at a forum in New York on Tuesday. 

"This study comes at a critical juncture in the bilateral relationship, a time when the two countries can either continue unprecedented cooperation or can become sidetracked by an increasing number of frictions and misunderstandings that threaten to complicate the future development of this critical economic partnership," said Tung Chee Hwa, founder of China-US Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) that initiated the study. 

Tung is also the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People' s Political Consultative Conference. 

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also said at the forum "Both of our countries have serious domestic issues, as they are moving into the new period; both of our countries face a new international situation; but both our countries have understood that we need a cooperative pattern. We now have to define what it is." 

The study explored potential areas for increased bilateral cooperation and one of its findings is that the United States is likely to undertake significant infrastructure building over the next decade, and Chinese investors with their surplus savings can provide some funding for the effort and obtain attractive returns. 

The authors of the study include Nobel Prize laureate economist Dr. Michael Spence, former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Dr. Michael Boskin, and Chairman of Fung Global Institute Dr. Victor Fung. 

Dr. Spence said that nothing would be better for the Chinese economy than a healthy European economy and an American recovery; and similarly, America or Europe can benefit from high growth in China. 

According to the study, China's middle class is expected to number 630 million by 2022, an increase from 230 million in 2012.