Mutual benefit
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Thursday's meeting between Premier Wen Jiabao and United States President Barack Obama in New York will help expand common interests and bridge the gaps on issues of mutual concern.
Frequent high-level contacts and timely exchange of views between China and the US will ensure that the world's most important bilateral ties have a smooth sailing. Stronger cooperation between the US and China in significant international affairs and other major issues will better serve their global interests and contribute to world peace and development.
As two important members of the international community, China and the US could better fulfill their international responsibilities by closing ranks to help relieve the world of its financial woes and fight climate change.
As the second largest trade partner for each other, China and the US have by and large maintained a sound bilateral economic and trade relationship. The momentum that they have maintained in bilateral ties has helped them raise their trade volume to more than $350 billion from just $ 2.5 billion in 1979, when diplomatic ties were established.
For bilateral ties to grow more healthily, Washington and Beijing could forge an even closer and wider economic relationship. This would be in line with the interests of the two countries and help the world economy recover faster.
The two countries should respect each other's core interests and major concerns. Political and strategic mutual trust is a precondition for maintaining sound bilateral trade ties. But instead of trying to build mutual trust, the US has linked the value of the yuan to its trade deficit with China. This is unfair, for the US has trade deficits with about 90 other countries.
Putting pressure on China to revaluate the yuan faster is no solution to the US' problems. A higher yuan will neither decrease the US' trade deficit nor create jobs in that country. The US' trade deficit with China, about $200 billion a year, is the result of the Sino-US investment and trade structure.
For a more balanced and sustained bilateral trade, the two countries have to cooperate on large-scale investment, based on equality, mutual trust and benefit. Plus, the US has to reform its export control regime to allow more China-bound exports.
As always, bilateral ties have suffered major setbacks recently because of the US' ignorance of and indifference to China's territorial integrity and security concerns. The US multi-billion-dollar arms sales to Taiwan, an inseparable part of China, Washington's muscle-flexing in the waters off China's eastern coast and interference in the South China Sea issue are provocative actions. They have not only eroded bilateral political and security trust, but also put regional peace and stability at risk.
Sino-US ties have advanced beyond the bilateral scope and create a major impact on the world. And since their common interests far outweigh their differences, the US and China should work to deepen political and strategic mutual trust, and solve their differences through dialogue and consultation.
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