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- By Wu Chunsi
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Beijing Review, January 9, 2012
The new Asia-Pacific strategy of the Obama administration was incomplete when the president announced a "return to Asia." After taking office, Obama made it clear that the United States should increase input in Asia Pacific. But the goals and purposes of the strategy remained vague. As many Asia-Pacific countries chose to wait and see, the burgeoning regional integration process came to a screeching halt.
As a move to change the status quo of the region, Washington's "return" is likely to increase strategic suspicions between China and the United States because it may infringe on China's interests.
The Obama administration's new Asia-Pacific strategy has cast a shadow over Sino-U.S. relations. Since their relations are of great importance for regional and global security, the two countries should handle their differences in an appropriate way and work together to promote stability and development in Asia Pacific.
Therefore, any strategic move by the two sides should be based on mutual trust to avoid suspicions. And on this account, U.S. attempts to boost its profile in Asia Pacific by interfering in disputes between China and its neighboring countries are not conducive to a positive Sino-U.S. relationship. To play a constructive role in the region, its new Asia-Pacific strategy ought to be aimed at peace and prosperity of the region rather than taking advantage of regional differences to promote U.S. interests.
The two powers should build an inclusive mechanism for cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. The United States' strengthening its traditional alliances in the region will not help maintain regional security, because these alliances were established during the Cold War with an apparent aim to curb China.
China and the United States should follow the principles of mutual respect and equal consultation when dealing with disagreements. Since Obama came to power, China and the United States have continued to strengthen dialogue in all areas. They have launched a strategic security dialogue and consultations on Asia-Pacific affairs under the framework of the Sino-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
These dialogue platforms have created opportunities for China and the United States to address their concerns. More importantly, the two countries should take positive attitudes toward narrowing differences. Given the complexity of the Sino-U.S. relationship, both sides should respect the core interests of each other and strive to build a mutually beneficial partnership. The Obama administration's stance on several issues concerning China's core interests such as arms sales to Taiwan is detrimental to the healthy development of bilateral relations.
The author is executive director of the Institute for International Strategic Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.
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