U.S.-China S&ED Outcomes of the Strategic Track
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 13, 2013
At the Fifth Round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) July 10-11, 2013, in Washington, D.C., Secretary of State John Kerry, special representative of President Barack Obama, and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, special representative of President Xi Jinping, chaired the Strategic Track, which included participation from senior officials from across both governments. The two sides held in-depth discussions on major bilateral, regional, and global issues and recommitted to the S&ED's role in deepening strategic trust and expanding practical cooperation to build a new model of relations between the United States and China. The dialogue on the Strategic Track produced the following specific outcomes and areas for further cooperation. The United States and China:
I. Enhancing Bilateral Cooperation
1. High-level Exchanges: Recognizing the important role of high-level exchanges in the development of U.S.-China relations, decided to further strengthen such exchanges between the two countries. The two sides reviewed the achievements of high-level exchanges since the fourth round of the S&ED, and underscored the constructive and successful meeting of President Obama and President Xi at Sunnylands, California in June. The two sides noted that upcoming multilateral meetings in 2013 provide further opportunities for high-level engagement between the two countries.
2. Strategic Security Dialogue: Held the third round of the Strategic Security Dialogue (SSD) July 9, 2013, and had a constructive, in-depth and candid exchange of views on a range of security issues of strategic importance to both countries. The dialogue was co-chaired by Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns for the United States and Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui for China, who were joined by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Miller, Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, and others from the relevant departments of the two countries. Commenting positively on the growing importance of the SSD and the establishment of a Cyber Working Group under the SSD, the two sides decided to engage in deeper and more sustained dialogue on these issues and to establish a stable and cooperative strategic security relationship. The two sides decided to hold an informal round of the SSD later this year.
3. Cyber Working Group: Welcomed the first meeting of the Cyber Working Group (CWG) under the SSD, and commented positively on the candid, in-depth, and constructive dialogue. The two sides had an in-depth discussion on issues of mutual concern and decided to take practical measures to enhance dialogue on international norms and principles in order to guide action in cyber space and to strengthen CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) to CERT coordination and cooperation. The two sides will also discuss additional cooperative measures in future meetings. Both sides recognized the CWG as the main platform for bilateral talks on cyber issues, agreed to have sustained dialogue on cyber issues, and agreed to hold the next meeting by the end of this year.
4. Military-to-Military Relations: Committed to strengthening the military-to-military relationship and to make efforts to raise the relationship to a new level, including by reaffirming the visit to the United States by China's Minister of National Defense in 2013 and a reciprocal visit to China by the U.S. Secretary of Defense at a mutually convenient date in 2014. Decided to actively explore a notification mechanism for major military activities and to continue discussions on the rules of behavior on military air and maritime activities, including at the next Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) plenary.
5. Hotlines between the Special Representatives of the Presidents: Decided to establish a hotline between the Special Representatives of the Presidents, in order to facilitate communication.
6. Human Rights Dialogue: Affirmed their commitment to continuing constructive bilateral dialogue on human rights and decided to hold the next round of the Human Rights Dialogue July 30-31, 2013.
7. Legal Experts Dialogue: Affirmed that legal cooperation and exchanges are in the interest of both countries and decided to continue joint efforts to advance the rule of law in their countries. In this context, they decided to hold the next round of the Legal Experts Dialogue November 7-8, 2013.
8. Nonproliferation Cooperation: Affirmed their intention to enhance communication and cooperation on nonproliferation, arms control, and other major international security issues on the basis of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit. The two sides noted the improvements in our bilateral cooperation on nonproliferation in the past year. They acknowledged the importance of cooperation in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technologies as called for by United Nations Security Council resolutions and reiterated that this cooperation represents an important part of our overall bilateral relationship. Both sides called for developing a road map for strengthening future cooperation.
9. Security Dialogue: Since renewing the Security Dialogue (SD) last year, the two sides have held two rounds, most recently in June, where they discussed strategic security, multilateral arms control and regional issues. At the last round of the SD the two sides acknowledged the importance of regular dialogue on these issues, and decided to hold the next SD prior to next year's S&ED.
10. Counter-Terrorism Consultation: Decided to hold the U.S.-China Counter-Terrorism Consultations at the vice ministerial level in due course.
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