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'Pacific Century' sets direction of China-US ties

By Ding Gang: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail People's Daily, February 17, 2012

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The historic handshake between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in February 1972. [Photo/Xinhua]

"This handshake comes across the vast Pacific Ocean," former U.S. President Richard Nixon said when reaching for late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai's hand, during his first visit to China 40 years ago.

Now, 40 years later, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is paying a visit to the United States. The vast Pacific Ocean has become a broad stage for the two great powers, and a great "Pacific Century" is coming. China-U.S. relations determine the direction of this century, and are also determined by the general trend of this century.

The Asia-Pacific region is the most dynamic part of the world economy, and Asia's emerging economies are becoming a new engine of global growth. The Asian Development Bank predicts that Asia will account for half of all global economic output by 2050.

China and the United States have more converging interests in the Asia-Pacific region than anywhere else. The competition and cooperation between the two countries will be focused on many hot-spot issues in this region, and have a direct impact on regional stability and development. The Asia-Pacific region will be the biggest beneficiary of the healthy development of China-U.S. relations.

The wide Asia-Pacific stage holds not only the two large countries of China and the United States, but also some countries accounting for an important part of the global economy and some emerging economies developing vigorously. Their developments are closely associated with the development of the China-U.S. relations and affect it too. This interactive relationship is one of the important factors defining the future trend of the China-U.S. relations.

Currently, the focus of the countries in the Asia-Pacific Region is how the economic prosperity could be guaranteed and how the economic growth and regional cooperation momentum could be maintained.

Reviewing the 40-year development history of the China-U.S. relations, we could say China and the United States strengthened their trust only in the course of creating a win-win, especially multilateral-win result. What we must remember is that a "Pacific Century" with peace, development and cooperation is the common wish of all the people in the region.