Special Report:  30th Anniversary of Sino-U.S. Diplomatic Relations    

    by Xinhua writer Chen Yu

    HOUSTON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- If the United States and China want to work together to shorten the world economic crisis, they can do it more effectively by cooperating, a senior U.S. diplomat said here on Monday.

    The two countries can also achieve positive results in a wide range of international and regional affairs as long as they build their relations on enhanced mutual confidence, Stapleton Roy, who was twice U.S. ambassador to China, said in an interview with Xinhua.

    SECRETARY CLINTON'S VISIT SENDS POSITIVE SIGNALS

    The new U.S. administration is on the right track in handling its ties with China, said Roy, a veteran diplomat with a 45-year career with the U.S. State Department and currently director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States.

    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent visit to China is very positive and sends the right signals that the new U.S. administration wants to move its relations with China in the positive direction, he said.

    "When she talked about China, she not only emphasized the importance of the relationship but also used the language of wanting positive, cooperative relationship with China. I think it's exactly what the goal of our foreign policy should be," he said.

    Both sides are pleased with the nature of the discussions Clinton had with Chinese leaders and are very committed to trying to move the U.S.-China relationship in the right direction, he said.

    Clinton's selection of Asia for her first overseas trip as secretary of state also underscored the importance the new U.S. administration attaches to this important region as well as individual countries there, according to Roy.

    U.S., CHINA "IN THE SAME BOAT"

    Describing U.S.-China ties as the most important relations in the world, Roy said the two countries are each other's most important trade partner and this trade relationship is "very important."

    China and the United States accounted for 40 percent of the world's GDP. Statistics show that despite the global economic meltdown, bilateral trade volume rose by 11.6 percent in the first eleven months of 2008 to 307.8 billion U.S. dollars.

    The number one priority for both countries right away is dealing with the financial crisis, and in this means, the two countries are "in the same boat," Roy said.

    The U.S. economy stays unhealthy, and if the Chinese economy cannot generate growth necessary to provide employment for millions of young people who enter the workforce every year, both countries are heading for real difficulties ahead, he said.

    What the United States and China can do is helping themselves and helping each other. "Finding the way out of the financial crisis is the number one priority for both countries," he said.

    He also noted that both China and the United States are enormous stakeholders in the financial system: China has been the supplier of credit and the United States has been the consumer of debt.

    "We need to act responsibly in the way we deal with these (economic) questions. We have to understand that everything one does affects the other, therefore, we need to be careful how we handle these things," said Roy.

    He warned against trade protectionism in face of the crisis. "If we end up with protectionism measures, then we will both make the crisis worse and we will both suffer."

    He said the signals emerging from the new U.S. administration are that the United States is not going to move in the protectionism direction. However, he said, there will be protectionism forces.

    "So the question is will the government be able to keep those forces under control so they do not push our policy in the wrong direction," he said.

    STRATEGIC ECONOMIC DIALOGUE IS IN RIGHT DIRECTION

    The U.S. administration is right to have strategic dialogue with China, Roy said. "I am glad this administration is prepared to talk about having strategic dialogue with China."

    The previous U.S. administration used the term "senior dialogue" to describe its talks with China, and that was wrong, he said.

    The talks between the United States and China had been strategic dialogues as "the word strategic means things that have long-term impact and involve big and fundamental interests," he said.

    However, he noted that any dialogue to be effective needs to be between the right people on each side who have the responsibility and have the understanding of the issues that have been done.

    "I think Secretary Clinton understands this and I think that's the approach she is going to take. I think the most important thing is that they intend to continue this type of dialogue with China," he said.

    Apart from the economic issues, Roy said China and the United States also can cooperate on others issues including climate change, energy, security, and nuclear proliferation.

    But above all, Roy said, the two need to increase mutual confidence and reduce strategic mistrust before having effective cooperation.

    "It's in the interest of both countries, for each of us to act in a way that increases confidence in the other country," he said.