Arson attack will not harm ties

When the US Federal Bureau of Investigation announced on Monday that a man suspected of carrying out the arson attack on the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, California, had been arrested, those who want relations between the United States and China to go well must have sighed in relief.

According to Special Agent David Johnson, chief of the FBI's San Francisco office, a 39-year-old man, who has permanent resident status of the United States, was arrested on Friday after he turned himself in by calling police in Daly City, some 16 kilometers south of San Francisco.

Considering relations between China and the United States have been improving and go far beyond the bilateral scope, any delay in cracking the case could have cast a shadow on the good momentum that has been nurtured by the leaders of both countries and led to unhealthy international speculation on the trajectory of their interaction this year.

Obviously, such a scenario is the last thing both countries want to see, as 2014 will be a significant year for them to substantiate their commitments to building a new type of relationship between an established power and an emerging one. The blaze ignited on the New Year's Day, which coincided with the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries 35 years ago, should serve as a reminder to both sides that there is still a long way to go in the recalibration of their ties.

At the moment, the US needs to properly handle the aftermath of the arson case. The weight of bilateral ties and norms governing international relations, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in particular, demand that the US take effective measures to protect foreign diplomatic institutions and staff on its soil. Washington has an unshirkable responsibility to prevent similar incidents from happening again, and to bring the perpetrator of the latest arson attack to justice at an early date.

It is expected both Beijing and Washington will take substantial steps in deepening strategic mutual trust this year, which is an important part of building a new type of relations between major powers, and they should step up their coordination to deal with emergencies and enhance crisis management so that the repercussions of any incidents, such as the arson attack on the San Francisco consulate, can be kept to a minimum.