FORGING A NEW RELATIONSHIP

FORGING A NEW RELATIONSHIP

China calls for an innovative thinking in its relations with the United States

CHARTING THE COURSE: Chinese President Hu Jintao addresses the opening session of the fourth round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing on May 3

A china and the United States should promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, said Chinese President Hu Jintao at the opening session of the fourth round of the Sino-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Beijing on May 3.

The annual dialogue was co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo, special representatives of Chinese President Hu Jintao, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, special representatives of U.S. President Barack Obama.

To build a new type of relationship between China and the United States, the two sides need to work actively, Hu said in a speech titled Promote Win-Win Cooperation and Build a New Type of Relationship Between Major Countries.

By citing an old Chinese saying, “only by working diligently can one achieve his goal, and only by walking tirelessly can one reach his destination,” he urged the two sides to take solid and effective steps to implement what they have agreed upon.

The two countries should enhance practical cooperation in a wide range of areas, and step up coordination on regional and international issues, Hu said, adding they should bring the benefits of bilateral cooperation to the people of the two countries and the whole world.

Enhancing mutual trust

“To build a new type of relationship between China and the United States, we need to trust each other,” Hu said.

He said the world is big enough for China, the United States and all other countries to achieve common development.

Over the past 30 years and more since its reform and opening-up process started, China has, through the hard work and wisdom of the Chinese people and win-win cooperation with the people around the world, pursued peaceful development.

“This is a right path to development that we have embarked on,” said Hu. Following the path of peaceful development is China’s strategic choice which will never change, and it is a solemn commitment China has made to the world, he added.

Expanding common ground

“To build a new type of relationship between China and the United States, we need to act in a spirit of equality and mutual understanding,”he said, noting that given different national conditions, it is impossible for China and the United States to see eye to eye on every issue.

He said the two sides must know how to respect each other, be good at expanding common ground and make the pie of their converging interests bigger.

“We should approach our differences in a correct way, and respect and accommodate each other’s interests and concerns,” he said.

He called on the two sides to properly manage differences through dialogue and exchange and by improving mutual understanding so that these differences will not undermine the larger interests of China-U.S. relations.

“We should, through creative thinking and concrete steps, prove that the traditional belief that big powers are bound to enter into confrontation and conflicts is wrong and seek new ways of developing relations between major countries in the era of economic globalization.”

—Chinese President Hu Jintao

Breaking traditional belief

Hu also called for efforts to break the traditional belief that big powers will enter into conflict, and seek new ways to develop relations between major countries.

“Whatever changes may take place in the world and no matter how the domestic situations in our two countries may evolve, China and the United States should be firmly committed to advancing the cooperative partnership and build a new type of relationship between major countries that is reassuring to both peoples from China and the United States and people across the world,” Hu said.

THE TIES THAT BIND: Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping says determination, confidence, patience and wisdom are all crucial for China and the United States to establish a new relationship as major powers at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in Beijing on May 3

To build such a new type of relationship between China and the United States, we need to think creatively, he said.

Forty years ago, China and the United States made a creative move by issuing the Shanghai Communiqué. The communiqué, which affirmed the shared views of the two countries and listed their differences truthfully, established the basic principles guiding Sino-U.S. relations.

Hu said China and the United States are now in the second decade of the 21st century, and both sides need to advance with the times in their thinking, policies and actions.

“We should, through creative thinking and concrete steps, prove that the traditional belief that big powers are bound to enter into confrontation and conflicts is wrong and seek new ways of developing relations between major countries in the era of economic globalization,” he said.

Nourishing friendship

Friendship between people holds the key to growing good relations between states, Hu said.

“To build a new type of relationship between China and the United States, we need to nourish our friendship,” he said.

He said the two sides should actively promote exchanges between Chinese and Americans from all walks of life and encourage greater public participation in the cause of promoting Sino-U.S. friendship and cooperation.

Hu said he hoped the third meeting of the China-U.S. High-Level Consultation on Peopleto-People Exchange, which was held alongside the fourth round of the S&ED, could further enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

(The article is based on news reports from Xinhua News Agency)