China-US S&ED expected to keep ties on track

China and the United States are expected to seize the opportunity of their high-level annual meeting to enhance mutual trust, manage differences and keep bilateral ties on the right track.

The sixth China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) and the fifth China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) are to be held in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday.

The S&ED will be co-chaired by Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi of China and Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew of the United States, while Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong and Kerry will co-chair the CPE.

STRATEGIC DIALOGUE: KEEP TIES ON RIGHT TRACK

At the important bilateral high-level strategic communication platform, China and the United States are to exchange in-depth views on domestic and foreign policy, bilateral sensitive issues, and interaction in the Asia-Pacific, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said Monday.

The two countries will also discuss global challenges as well as regional issues of common concern, Zheng said.

Zhou Jingxing, former political counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, said the two countries have maintained frequent and effective high-level interaction since the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Barack Obama, in California last June.

This year has witnessed visits by Kerry, US First Lady Michelle Obama and US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to China.

During a meeting on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in March in the Netherlands, Xi and Obama reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to building a new type of major-country relations.

Military communication and cooperation between China and the United States have also been enhanced. Fang Fenghui, chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, paid a successful visit to the United States in May.

Furthermore, the two countries have maintained close communication and coordination on such topics as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the Iranian nuclear issue and climate change.

It is true that differences and disputes do exist in the China-US relations. Washington's wrong behavior on China's sea disputes with neighboring countries and cyber security has exerted a negative impact on bilateral ties, said Yuan Peng, vice president of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR).

Yang Xiyu, a researcher with the China Institute of International Studies, said the focus of China-US friction has a trend of turning from such bilateral issues as the Taiwan Strait situation to such issues as the East China Sea and South China Sea tensions involving a third party.

Former diplomat Zhou said strategic mutual trust is the basis for solving all the problems between China and the United States. The upcoming strategic dialogue provides an important channel for the two countries to canvass key sensitive issues.

Both should seize this opportunity to properly handle differences in a constructive way and keep China-US relations on the right development path, Zhou said.

Although fewer tangible results have been achieved in previous rounds of strategic dialogue than economic dialogue, experts say such mechanisms enable departments concerned to communicate on strategic issues every year and tangible results cannot be regarded as the only gauge of its effectiveness.