China's greater responsibilities and US
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By Frank Ching
In recent years, there has been a noticeable change in China’s attitude: it now acknowledges that an increase in power means the country should assume greater responsibilities.
This was very evident at the high-level talks in Washington last week.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who co-chaired the dialogue, said without objection from his Chinese counterparts that “China and the United States have a special responsibility to ensure sustainable economic growth."
The American official was speaking about action by the two countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. China, he pointed out, was the world’s largest emitter today and the United States was “history’s largest cumulative emitter."
In fact, Chinese officials these days are increasingly willing to acknowledge that their country should cooperate with Washington on global governance issues. This is in stark contrast to their previous attitude that those issues were the sole responsibility of the United States.
Ever since he assumed office in March, the new Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has been talking about the building of a new model of relationships between major powers, especially between China and the United States.
At the informal summit at Sunnylands in May between President Xi and his American counterpart, Barack Obama, the two men agreed to develop such a relationship.
And, at the strategic and economic dialogue last week, both sides repeatedly referred to this new model of relations.
The very fact that China is seeking a new model of relations between itself and other major powers is an acknowledgement that not all countries are equal. A rising China, it follows, should be willing to play a larger role in helping to resolve global issues, such as climate change.
In fact, in the dialogue last week, Chinese and American officials exchanged views on a range of global issues. China promised to remain committed to denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. It agreed to enhance coordination with the United States on the Iranian nuclear issue, Syria, Afghanistan and other regional and global issues.
Of course, discussion of an issue doesn’t imply agreement between Washington and Beijing.
Thus, the two countries also discussed issues in the East China Sea, where China has a territorial dispute with Japan, an American military ally, and in the South China Sea, where it has maritime issues with four Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, another American ally.
In fact, U.S.-China differences were reflected in a meeting that President Obama held with two senior Chinese officials ― Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi ― who were there as special representatives of President Xi.
According to the White House, Obama “urged China to manage its maritime disputes with its neighbors peacefully, without the use of intimidation or coercion.
Evidently in response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry the following day issued a statement calling on the U.S. to “respect the facts and not side with any particular party in the South China Sea maritime disputes. It said that Washington had pledged in its dialogue with China not to support any party involved in the disputes.
Significantly, President Xi, in a message, pledged to actively cooperate with the U.S. on bilateral, regional and global levels while managing sensitive issues.
Differences are to be expected in any relationship. The important thing is that the two top powers cooperate when needed.
And there was agreement, especially on economic issues. The most significant was an agreement to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty, something they failed to do in 2008.
The chances of success are higher now because China is keen to invest overseas but has been rebuffed a number of times by the U.S. Currently, a Chinese company, Shuanghui International, is offering to pay $4.7 billion for the pork producer Smithfield Foods, the biggest single investment by China in the U.S., if approved.
There was also progress on another issue: access by American security regulators to audit work papers of Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges. Absence of cooperation by the regulatory body in China has led to the de-listing of over 50 Chinese companies.
Now, the Chinese regulator has agreed to cooperate, though it is not clear to what extent.
Still, as State Councilor Yang said, “The two sides believe that the China-U.S. relationship has reached a new starting point and that each has a stake in the other’s success.
The official Chinese media went even further. “China and the U.S. have created a miracle, the Global Times effused. “For the first time in modern history, the existing power and the rising power are not enemies.
Frank Ching is a journalist and commentator based in Hong Kong. Email the writer at frank.ching@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter:@FrankChing1.