‘WE ARE in the same big boat that has been hit by fierce wind and huge waves, with our interests interconnected, sharing weal and woe.” This was the assessment of Dai Bingguo, who led the Chinese delegation to Washington this week for the two countries’ Strategic and Economic Dialogue. “What we can do is to try to cross the stormy weather together as passengers on this boat,” he added.
The Chinese delegation, numbering 150 officials and many ministers, was given a deliberately upbeat welcome by US president Barack Obama, who included secretary of state Hillary Clinton, as well as treasury secretary Tim Geithner prominently in his team. Mr Obama believes the US-China dialogue will shape the 21st century. He wants it to develop and grow during his presidency to encompass economic issues, climate change, nuclear proliferation, counter-terrorism and political developments impinging on both states.
Given such an ambitious agenda it was natural that this two-day session should have been as much about the delegations getting to know one another personally and understanding their differences better, as to resolving them immediately. While they are certainly buffeted by the same winds, they have a number of conflicting interests at play, as well as the complementary one emphasised by Mr Obama. Hard economic issues loom largest here, such as the $800 billion US treasury bonds held by China, its $266 billion trade surplus with the US last year, procurement rules which US companies regard as protectionist and more generally a culture of maximising export growth deeply embedded in China’s industrial culture which will not change fast.
Mr Obama says the countries should be “partners out of necessity, but also out of opportunity”. It is a good formula, depending crucially on how successfully they manage the wider agenda on climate change, nuclear proliferation and international governance – not to mention the tricky subject of human rights in China’s domestic politics recently highlighted by the clashes involving the Uighur minority in Xinjiang province.
There is a clear perspective from this meeting that the US and China will co-operate closely on climate change leading up to the crucial Copenhagen summit next December. There is greater mutual understanding of their economic interdependence. And they have made progress on how to broaden international governing structures to include emergent states and economies. It is a good start on a long and difficult journey.