It is already a worldwide consensus that China and the United States, the two giants sitting on the opposite end of the Pacific Ocean, play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the vast region between them, whose eminence in global affairs is growing each and every day. It is against such an epic backdrop that there is a growing sense among Chinese, U.S. and Asian officials and experts that Chinese President Xi Jinping"s upcoming first state visit to the United States could further promote the positive China-U.S. interaction in the Asia-Pacific and thus make the Pacific Ocean more live up to its name. President Xi, a staunch advocator for common peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific, has made it clear time and again that "the broad Pacific Ocean is vast enough to embrace both China and the United States." He has also repeatedly urged the two sides to honor their commitment to actively interact in the Asia-Pacific region, encourage inclusive diplomacy, and jointly play a constructive role to bolster regional peace, stability and prosperity. With their shared important responsibilities for the region, China and the United States have been carrying out multi-level and multi-field communication and coordination in the Asia-Pacific. Bolstered by Xi"s upcoming visit, such coordination and cooperation will not only be a blessing to the two countries, but also a boon to the Asia-Pacific and the world as a whole. TESTING GROUND FOR NEW MODEL OF MAJOR-COUNTRY TIES In recent years, China and the United States have been making joint efforts toward building a new model of major-country ties, featuring no-conflict and no-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation. Many officials and experts in both nations believe that the Asia-Pacific region should become a "testing ground" for the task. "What we (China and the United States) are doing to build this new model of relationship will certainly give us very good guidance for our interaction in the Asia-Pacific; what we are doing in the Asia-Pacific together will give more substance to this new model of relationship," Cui Tiankai, China"s ambassador to the United States, said in a policy speech in Houston in May. "I believe our ongoing efforts for constructive interaction in the Asia-Pacific region will be an important pillar of this new model of relationship. And the region will be a testing ground for this new model," he added. "In the Asia-Pacific region, China and the United States need to negotiate and cooperate, instead of acting on the free will of their own and "splitting" the ocean. The Asia-Pacific region should be the testing ground for China-U.S. win-win cooperation," said Ruan Zongze, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS). Jia Xiudong, a senior research fellow at the CIIS, also pointed out that as a region where China-U.S. interests are most intervowen and their interactions are most intensive, the Asia-Pacific should become a core testing ground of the two nations to explore a new model of major-country ties. "It must succeed, or the cost of failure will be too huge for any country to bear," he added. "Whether China and the United States can eventually build a new model of major-country relations mainly depends on their interaction in the Asia-Pacific," Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies, Fudan University, told Xinhua. In fact, the process of building a new model of major-country relations between China and the United States, there are not only many successful precedents of positive interaction in the Asia-Pacific, but also a large number of contemporary examples. Jeffrey Bader, an expert at the Brookings Institution and former China policy adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama in the National Security Council, wrote recently that East Asia has avoided major military conflicts since the 1970s, which is owing to the maturity and good sense of most of the states of the region. Besides, it is due to the reconciliation of the Asia-Pacific major powers, the United States and China, initiated by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger and nurtured by every American administration and Chinese leadership since, he wrote. On the political and strategic level, the two countries have established Asia-Pacific consultation mechanism. In military ties, which are considered to be the most vulnerable part in bilateral relationship, the two sides also have conducted several joint military drills including the first China-U.S. disaster relief exercise in Hawaii in November 2013. The two countries have also maintained fruitful communication and coordination on hotspot topics in Asia, such as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and Afghanistan. BALLAST OF REGIONAL PEACE, PROSPERITY More positive interaction between China and the United States and joint efforts to promote regional prosperity and stability represent the common aspirations of all the countries in the region. Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke has said that the key issue in safeguarding security in the Asia-Pacific region is the orientation of the China-U.S. relationship. All Asian countries are eager to see closer relations between China and the United States, said Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, adding it is a good signal that the two countries have expressed the broad Pacific Ocean vast enough to embrace both nations. Chheang Vannarith, co-founder and chairman of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies, said that the China-U.S. relationship is very important for the whole world, especially for the Asia-Pacific region. Improved relations will help in political stability, security and development around the world, he said, adding that good communication between the two countries" leaders is particularly important. "In the Asia-Pacific, China and the United States are both extremely important for the regional countries. Southeast Asian countries don"t want to pick a side between the two powers, since the trade relations with China and security cooperation with the United States are both vital for them," Peter Cai, a China expert of News Corp. Australia, told Xinhua. Senior Associate of Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Vikram Nehru told Xinhua that because of the rise of China, many Asia-Pacific countries are being drawn into the Chinese economic orbit and China has become the largest trading partner of all the countries in the region. "I think it is fair to say that all these countries have improved and increased their bilateral relationship with China just as they have improved their relationship with the United States," Nehru said. He said that more than 50 countries, including many Asia-Pacific nations, have become founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which showed they have taken more mature stance. "I think the United States would have been well advised to follow that particular strategy. That will be good for the AIIB, for Asia and for the United States," Nehru said. David Dollar, another China expert at the Brookings Institution, said many Asia-Pacific economies, such as Australia, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam want to be part of both Chinese initiatives (the AIIB and the "One Belt, One Road" ) and the American effort to reduce trade barriers. "These different efforts are in fact complementary." |
