Forum stresses positive in relations

Numerous diplomats, scholars and experts from China and the US gathered to take stock of the China-US relationship in the past 42 years and look into future adjustments in the vital bilateral relationship.

They spoke at a virtual conference Wednesday night that was hosted by the Carter Center and Chinese People's Association for Peace and Disarmament.

Looking back at the relationship, Long Yongtu, former vice-minister at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and former secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia, said that the United States made important contributions to get China back into the multilateral system in trade.

"China's getting back into the multilateral system has brought tremendous benefit to the Chinese people, but it's also fair to say that it brought tremendous benefit to the world including the United States," he said.

Long said that when it comes to the China-US relationship, it is important for the two nations to work together constructively within the framework of the multilateral system. He said he was happy to see the Biden administration state that it is necessary to confront the world's common challenges through multilateral organizations.

"It seems to me that multilateralism could bring a lot good benefits to the US-China relationship. Within a multilateral framework, the two countries can find many common grounds to cooperate, to support each other, and to do some constructive work instead of only focusing on some difficulty issues of the bilateral natures," he said.

Long also suggested that multilateral framework will help the US and China to establish a relationship based on the "rule of law instead of the rule of the jungle". In addition, he said it would provide a "useful buffer" when the two countries experience difficult times.

Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, warned that while the US government has changed hands, many issues remain: polarization, COVID-19, geopolitics, the trade deficit, technology competition with China, poor public perception of each other in both countries and a skeptical Congress.

Speaking from an American business perspective, Allen advised that both governments keep the phase one trade agreement and implement it fully.

Meanwhile, he said the two governments should negotiate a phase two agreement, building on the advances in the EU agreement and accompanied by a removal of or reduction of tariffs and counter-tariffs by the time of either G20 or APEC at the end of 2021.

Allen also said he hopes to see the two governments negotiate a longer-term agreement based on CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) vocabulary, values and norms that may lead to a WTO-plus type of agreement to be adopted at the global level possibly.

"It would be best if both join CPTPP and use it as new paradigm for trade and investment regionally and globally," Allen said.

Zhou Wenzhong, vice-president of the China-US People's Friendship Association and former ambassador to the United States, called for the US to take a balanced view of the relationship and not put too much emphasis on its negative aspects.

"The relationship has come a long way. Trade between China and the United States has soared 200 times compared to the early days of diplomatic ties, and two-way investment has surged from a negligible level to almost $240 billion. In 2020, US-China trade in goods increased by 8.8 percent despite the COVID-19 pandemic and political headwinds," Zhou said.

He said the two nations need to find the right approach for engagement. "The goal of US-China engagement is not to mold one another in one's own image, still less to defeat the other side, but to seek and expand common interest," Zhou said.

Zhou suggested that both countries build a strategic framework to grow a stable bilateral relationship, open up dialogues and exchanges at all levels and areas; properly manage the differences; expand practical cooperation and convergence of interests; and strengthen communication and coordination on regional and international issues.

"The most important issue is your perception of China. I hope you continue to see China as a partner rather than a rival or even enemy," Zhou said.