Shanghai Communique holds key to putting Sino-US ties back on right track: China Daily editorial

Monday marked the 50th anniversary of the release of the Shanghai Communique by the United States and China. This was the first communique between the two sides that initiated the normalization of their relations.

In the communique, the two sides agreed that "countries, regardless of their social systems, should conduct their relations on the principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, non-aggression against other states, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence".

It was on that basis that the two countries signed the 1979 communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 1982 communique on the Taiwan question. Together, the three joint communiques have been the foundation for the development of the Sino-US relationship, which, despite its occasional blips, has generally maintained an upward trend until recent years, bringing tremendous benefits to the two peoples and the world.

Today, though, relations between the two countries are at a crossroad, thanks to the US' China containment strategy that originates from its Cold War mentality and zero-sum mindset. Casting their eyes over the Shanghai Communique and reminding themselves of its basic principles would reveal to US decision-makers how far they are deviating from the agreed principles and shared aspirations for bilateral ties.

The differences between China and the US were much bigger 50 years ago than they are today; while their common interests today are greater than they were back then. Not to mention the shared responsibilities the two countries shoulder for world peace and development as the world's two largest economies.

But as long as US politicians persist in viewing China through an ideological prism, they will naturally see the differences and interpret China's rise and integration into the world as a threat to the US' preeminence.

Despite the great lengths the US has gone to derail China's development, the three principles proposed by Beijing to put an end to the current tensions in Sino-US relations and get them back on a healthy trajectory indicates that Beijing still firmly upholds the principles put forward in the Shanghai Communique.

As State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted in a meeting commemorating the anniversary in Shanghai, the root cause of the souring of Sino-US relations is Washington's reneging of these principles — namely, mutual respect, equity and win-win cooperation.

Fifty years ago, few would have foreseen the profound changes the signing of the Shanghai Communique heralded. In the same light, the potential of what has arguably become the most important bilateral relations in the world should never be underestimated should the US once again uphold the consensus set out in the communique.