A new type of major-country relationship: challenges and opportunities
- By Sun Chenghao
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 10, 2015
The U.S. alliance system in the Asia-Pacific, to some extent, is at odds with "no conflict or confrontation", one principle of the new type of major-country relationship, because the strengthening of the alliance system will increase the strategic mistrust and might intensify the strategic competition between the two sides. It is not realistic for the U.S. to abandon its alliance system in the short term and it might lead to a problem that cannot be easily bypassed when the two countries build the new type of major-country relationship.
Under such circumstances, the first state visit paid by Chinese president Xi Jinping to the U.S. this September is extremely important. The two sides should grasp the opportunity to push forward the new type of major-country relationship in practical ways. The first thing is to elaborate or add more concrete contents to the idea. For instance, the U.S. might question the definition of "mutual trust" and "win-win cooperation". What is "respect" and does it necessarily mean that the two countries should respect each other's different ideologies or values besides the tangible national interest? In what areas should both countries seek win-win cooperation?
Although China and U.S. may have different understandings over the principles of a new type of major-country relationship, the idea in general is a useful guideline for the future development of the bilateral relations. To narrow the gap and fill the cracks, the two countries should facilitate cooperation step by step. Some issues on which the two have already reached common understanding should be further pushed forward during Xi's visit. On climate change, the two countries should carry on the momentum and might release another joint announcement to create favorable atmosphere for the upcoming Paris Climate Conference. On military-to-military relations, a code of conduct on air military encounters might be expected. On BIT negotiations, the two countries should speed up the process and take great political courage to make progress.
Breakthroughs should better be made on thorny issues. As for cyber security, both countries should respect each other's interests and reach some fundamental consensus like promising not to attack each other's key infrastructures, regulating their own actions and forming basic norms. The two might explore the possibilities of cooperating on fighting against cyber crime. On the South China Sea issue, the two should avoid the negative consequences of alliance politics. China and the U.S. must lessen their strategic mistrust via more communications and actions. China should speed up consultations with ASEAN over a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, while the U.S. should help its allies Japan and the Philippines to mitigate their tensions with China.
The China-U.S. relationship is not only the most important bilateral relationship in the world, but also the most complex one. No conflict and confrontation is the bottom line for the two countries, which is relatively easy to maintain. There are still numerous challenges ahead for both to realize mutual trust and win-win cooperation. Yet the new type of major country relationship will accumulate more positive energy if both countries can grasp the opportunities and achieve functional cooperation in deferent spheres by practical and systematic means.
Sun Chenghao is Assistant Research Fellow at Institute of American Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
This article was first published at Chinausfocus.com To see the original version please visit http://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/a-new-type-of-major-country-relationship-challenges-and-opportunities/
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