US sees broad, responsible role for China
(USA TODAY)
Updated: 2006-01-25 09:08

It is time for China to become a more responsible global player, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick told his Chinese hosts on Tuesday.

China's "size and success" mean it cannot "just concentrate on problems at home," Zoellick said to reporters in China's capital. "I am here to suggest how China could play a very positive role in the international system."

As the fastest-growing economy in the world, China's reach is starting to match its giant size. On key issues like energy, counter-terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation, the State Department hopes China will use its new weight in a responsible way. "China's success and accomplishments make it an influential player in the global system," Zoellick said. "It's important that China see the possibilities of sustaining and building that system from which it benefits a great deal."

Zoellick's two-day trip aims to lock China into the "stakeholder" concept he outlined in a September 2005 speech titled, "Whither China: From Membership to Responsibility." The speech, widely studied in China, highlights the new direction the State Department hopes Sino-US relations will take and the difficulty of getting there.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick speaks at a news conference in Beijing January 24, 2006. Zoellick was in Beijing on Tuesday to hold talks with senior Chinese officials and expected to cover nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea. [Reuters]

Doubts remain over how far the new rhetoric translates into action. "Both sides have made a lot of nice speeches in recent months," says Shi Yinhong, a professor of International Relations at People's University in Beijing. "But they have not taken substantial steps to really deal with concrete disputes."

The list of potential disputes includes the large bilateral trade imbalance, the need for further revaluation of China's yuan currency and China's stance over the possible nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea. "China's leadership was happy to hear the concept of "stakeholder" as it shows America recognizes China's increasing role in the world," says Shi. But less attention was paid to the "responsible" role of that stakeholder, as "the rest of the speech criticized China on a range of issues." Both sides have "a distance of expectation," he says.

Zoellick hopes his initiative offers a framework on which to promote Sino-U.S. relations, widely tipped as this century's key bilateral relationship. "The words 'stakeholder' upgraded China's status in foreign relations and the global system," says Chu Shulong, director of the Strategy Research Institute at Tsinghua University, also in Beijing. "The only uncertainty in Chinese circles is whether it represents the ideas of the administration. Does the key term 'stakeholder' also represent the ideas of Secretary (of State Condoleezza) Rice, or the thinking of the President himself?"

In meetings Tuesday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told Zoellick that China hopes the strategic dialogue will "improve mutual understanding and mutual trust." Chu predicts a smooth ride, in the short-term. "America's strategic intention and concern is not China, but in Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terrorism," Chu says. "America needs China's cooperation in these areas, so I see smooth, positive development of relations in the year ahead."

Also Tuesday, China and the United States confirmed that Chinese President Hu Jintao will make his first official visit to Washington, delayed from September by Hurricane Katrina, in April.

Zoellick heads today to the southwestern city of Chengdu, where he will visit a panda reserve.