International Ties

Common regional interests

By Tao Wenzhao (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-10 07:48

China and the US can only gain from working together to build a stable, peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific

President Hu Jintao paid tribute to the relations between China and the other countries of the Asia-Pacific region, the United States included, in his written interview with the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post before his state visit to the United States in January.

He pointed out that the joint efforts of the relevant countries propel development of the Asia-Pacific region, promote mutual trust and cooperation among different countries and maintain sustainable development under the guidance of mutually beneficial principles. This neatly summarizes relations between China and its neighboring countries.

With this in mind it is clear that China and the US have a number of common interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

First, maintaining the peace and stability of the region. If military conflict really broke out in the region, neither China nor the US would benefit. Neither country wants a war to break out as a result of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. History tells us that military measures are not the solution to the Korean Peninsula issue. Peaceful negotiations are the solution.

The US has a similar understanding on this issue. Before former president Jiang Zemin's visit to the US, former US president Bill Clinton outlined six areas of common interest for the two countries; one was that the peace and stability of Asia concerned the fundamental interests of the US.

Second, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in this region. China and the US are mainly focused on joint efforts to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The participants in the Six-Party Talks - China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan, the US and Russia - reached consensus on the implementation of the Joint Statement of Sept 19, 2004, which led to the DPRK taking a series of practical steps toward denuclearization, including the blowing up of the cooling tower of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor in June 2008.

The ROK's "Sunshine Policy" in recent years also helped calm the tensions between the two countries. Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice indicated in an international conference in Seoul in November 2010 that the Six-Party Talks "still work" in the current situation.

The Six-Party Talks provide all parties involved with a favorable platform for multilateral dialogue.

In fact, the Six-Party Talks are the only way to realize denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

Third, maintaining the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific region surpassed Europe and became the largest investment target and trade partner of the US in the 1990s. The Asia-Pacific region is different from Europe in its trade composition. The inner trade of Europe accounts for two thirds of the overall trade of Europe, while it accounts for only half in Asia. The Obama administration plans to double US exports in five years and Asia will undoubtedly be the main market. Thus, maintaining the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region is of vital importance to promote the sustainable economic growth of both China and the US.

Fourth, advancing integration and regional cooperation of Asia-Pacific nations. The US is both a Pacific nation and an Atlantic nation. China and the US emphasized in a joint statement in November 2009 that China and the US have broad common interests in the Asia-Pacific region and support the construction and perfection of an open, forgiving and win-win regional cooperative framework.

Both sides will make efforts to let the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Association of Southeast Asia Nations Regional Forum play more effective roles in promoting trade and investment and regional security in Asia-Pacific region.

The common interests of both countries are not limited to just these four areas and I think the common interests outweigh the differences that exist between China and the US.

Neither China nor the US will gain from military conflict, turmoil and economic recession in the Asia-Pacific region. A peaceful, stable and prosperous Asia-Pacific region is beneficial for both countries and the other countries of the region will also enjoy the benefits.

The author is a senior researcher with the Center for US-China Relations at Tsinghua University.

China Forum

(China Daily 02/10/2011 page8)