US, China trust at centre of President Xi’s visit
PRESIDENT Xi Jinping began a state visit to the US on Tuesday.
Looking back at over three decades after China and the US established diplomatic links, each visit by Chinese leaders consolidated the foundation of bilateral co-operation and steered the relationship.
Undoubtedly, Xi’s visit will increase trust between the two nations. Enhancing it hinges on the two sides’ consensus on the international order, to which they are crucial.
Both need global stability, which should be the principal consensus and a starting point. Specifically, China should continue its strategy of integration, seeking reform within the established order and seeking to rise within the system. Meanwhile, the US should keep the international order open and adjust it to fit the changing situation.
For the two, the adjustment is a low-cost choice that is necessary to maintain peace and stability in international society. The details of the adjustment of the order require negotiations on specific issues. China and the US need to make clear their intentions and cooperate on specific issues.
Enhancing trust depends on crisis control. China’s growth has brought tension to the bilateral ties, marking a big change in the power pattern in the Asia-Pacific. The US has not acclimatised to the changes, leading to anxiety towards China among the political elite in the nation.
In order to prevent incidents that will weaken bilateral ties, China and the US should promote a mechanism for communication on major military moves and a code of conduct concerning their air forces and navies on the high seas. They should also co-ordinate more on nuclear weapons and space and manage and control potential conflicts caused by certain departments in practical operations.
It should be noted that China’s territorial disputes with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam do not belong to the sphere of China’s ties with the US. They have been hampering the development of bilateral relations. China and the US need to actively manage and control the acts of the third parties.