- Acknowledging differences candidly in a high-level dialogue here Wednesday, China and the United States have displayed the commitment to crack some hard nuts in their complex relations that bear global significance.
The sixth round of China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) and the fifth round of High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) have been in the global spotlight, as the world's economic heavyweights held extensive discussions.
COOPERATION NECESSARY, CONFRONTATION DISASTROUS
Enhancing cooperation and avoiding confrontation was reaffirmed during the dialogue.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Chinese President Xi Jinping said history showed that cooperation between China and the U.S. led to win-win results while confrontation hurt both sides.
After 35 years, Sino-U.S. ties have developed and the two countries' interests deeply intertwined, Xi said. Cooperation has not only benefited both populations, but promoted peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.
An agreement to build a new model of Sino-U.S. relationship, with aims to break the cycle of conflicts, is unprecedented and has significant implications for the future. But there are no ready-made solutions.
Xi proposed that both sides respect each other; stick to dialogue, consultation and other constructive ways to expand understanding; deepen cooperation based on equality and mutual trust; and accumulate shared interests to defuse differences.
The call was echoed by the U.S. when President Barack Obama labeled the new model a "shared goal" of practical cooperation and constructive management of differences.
"We should use the S&ED to demonstrate to the world that even the relationship is complex as ours, we remain determined to ensure that cooperation defines our overall relations," Obama said in a statement.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who co-chaired the dialogue, said the U.S. and China have stakes in each other's success and that his country welcomes the emergence of a peaceful, stable and prosperous China.
COMMON INTERESTS, PRACTICAL MEASURES
This year marks the 35th anniversary of formal China-U.S. ties, with trade between the two at 520 billion U.S. dollars last year, 200 times that of 1979.
Stressing that common interests far outweigh differences, Xi put forward proposals on accelerated negotiations on the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), strengthening military dialogue, fighting terror, climate change and coordination on international and regional issues.
Climate cooperation is a good example of practical cooperation on common interests. Xie Zhenhua, deputy director of China's National Development and Reform Commission, said both sides strengthened dialogue and exchanged ideas on climate change during Wednesday's session.
Progress in climate cooperation in the past year includes defining major areas of cooperation and clarifying over 30 projects for the next three years.
Companies and research institutes from both sides signed eight partnership agreements on Tuesday covering areas from carbon capture to low-carbon cities.
The negotiations on BIT and China's structural reform were discussed.Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, co-hosting the economic dialogue with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, said "economic partnership makes our cooperation more formidable, though bargaining and differences play a part in this process."
Lew said President Obama and President Xi had made it clear that a strong U.S.-China economic relationship is their priority.
Wang also announced that the first round of negotiations on the BIT will be concluded shortly and enter the next phase on a negative list.
"The BIT creates jobs, opportunities and mutual interests on both sides. It helps stabilize the relationships and give you confidence the relationship will be handled carefully into the future," Kenneth Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute's John L. Thornton China Center, told Xinhua.
THIRD PILLAR, PEACEFUL FUTURE
It is the first time the CPE has been held alongside the S&ED, showing the weight put on people-to-people exchanges, especially among the younger generations of China and the United States.
To build bonds between youth and create a peaceful future, the two countries will sign a series of agreements and are expected to achieve results in 103 programs, Chinese Vice Education Minister Hao Ping said prior to the event.
The CPE this year focuses on closer links between Chinese and American youth, with highlights including a school cooperation program proposed by President Xi's wife Peng Liyuan and President Obama's wife Michelle, and a commemoration of the 35th anniversary of student exchange.
Holding the consultation and the dialogue at the same time has a significant meaning, said Yuan Peng, vice president of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.
Yuan said people-to-people exchanges play an irreplaceable role in the new relationship model and have become a pillar - along with political trust and trade cooperation - in building the new China-U.S. ties.
