US should support China's reform drive

Just three days after the conclusion of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on November 12, US Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew, paid a visit to Beijing as Obama's special envoy and met with China's top leader Xi Jinping. Three days after Lew finished his visit Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong made an eight-day trip to the United States. Then, US Vice-President Joe Biden visited Beijing. This high-level interaction between the two countries sent a clear signal that both sides expect to deepen their engagement and advance bilateral cooperation.

Over the past four decades, the US has witnessed China's fundamental transformation, and by supporting China's full engagement in the world system it has greatly benefited from China's remarkable economic development. The bilateral trade volume was nearly $500 billion in 2012, and they have become each other's second-largest trading partner. As the largest foreign holder of US Treasury Bonds valued at about $1.3 trillion, China has also provided a huge amount of money for the US government, which has needed trillions of dollars to pay for its military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to jump-start the paralyzed economy after the onset of the financial crisis. And in the area of security, the two countries share more common interests than divergences. From denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula to the stable supply of oil from the Middle East, and from anti-piracy in the Indian Ocean to free and safe navigation in the South China Sea, the United States and China share many of the same national security concerns.

China's new round of reform as laid out in plenum's roadmap document is mainly aimed at establishing a modern governance system and improving governing capabilities. As the largest developed country in the world, the US has rich experience of a market economy and social management that it can share with China. As China is committed to the rule of law, greater respect for human rights and improved compliance with the established standards of a market economy, the US interests in China will be better protected and greatly enhanced. China's new leadership has reiterated that Chinese investment overseas is targeted at $500 billion and its total imports at $1 trillion over the next five years. These promise great opportunities for US localities and companies.