Document offers clue into future Sino-US ties

• Source: Global Times
• [08:24 November 18 2009]
• Comments

A bright spot of this China- US joint statement is that it's longer than any former ones, reflecting an ever-growing Sino-US relationship. Bilateral cooperation is expanding in existing areas as well as in new fields.

It is also worth noticing that we saw a more interactive joint statement. That is, China gained a more initiative position. In former joint statements, it was the US that dominated the agenda. But this time, most issues in this joint statement concern China's interests.

Besides, the joint statement shows that Sino-US relations are going global.

The two sides care about not only bilateral topics, but also regional and global problems, including climate change, the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the Iranian nuclear issue, development in South Asia, and UN peacekeeping operations.

This is because the mutual understanding between China and the US is playing a more and more important role in certain problems.

Obama has had a clear concept of his foreign policy toward China -– building a positive, cooperative and comprehensive US-China relationship. But how to realize it depends on further communication about practical steps.

Thus Obama's visit could be considered an effective step, and the joint statement is actually a road map for our future steps. It makes clear what we are going to do and to what extent.

However, trade friction still remains a worrying uncertainty. The unemployment rate in the US has reached two digits now, and Obama is facing stronger pressure from domestic protectionists.

Although the joint statement indicates the two sides' positive stance, this issue is bound to how Obama deals with domestic pressures.

Wang Dong, assistant professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University

The joint statement covers an extensive range of issues, which reflects the current situation of China-US relations in that the interdependence has reached an unprecedented level. Relations have come to a structurally mature phase.

It's an important gesture that the joint statement specifically talks about constructing and deepening mutual strategic trust.

I think the two sides should surpass the specific agenda and look upon broad international relations. How can they avoid the historic fate of a dominant power and a rising power being destined to clash? From state leaders to academic scholars, this is the puzzle to be solved.

The statement indicates a step forward in the right direction, but in the future, reducing strategic mistrust is the most difficult task.

Reading the intensive coverage by the US media of Obama's China visit shows they are frustrated by the fact that Obama's town hall meeting in Shanghai was not broadcast live in China, which to them is not truly engagement with the Chinese public.

We have a different understanding of issues such as human rights and value. The Chinese public lacks a proper understanding of the complexity of US domestic politics.