By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
China and the United States recently signed a protocol toextend the 45-year-oldAgreement Between the United States and China on Cooperation in Science and Technologyfor additional five years.
The international community widely welcomes the renewal of the agreement. They believe that sci-tech cooperation between China and the U.S. not only serves the interests of both peoples but also facilitates their joint efforts in addressing global challenges.
This once again demonstrates that China-U.S. cooperation can lead to fruitful results that are beneficial to both countries and the rest of the world.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 45 years ago, China-U.S. relations have gone through the tests of winds and rains but have largely sustained a positive momentum.
From the “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” that broke the ice of bilateral relations to the group “Kuliang Friends” that continued the legacy of friendship, each small step of “harmony” and “cooperation” between China and the U.S. has injected impetus into the historical development of their relationship.
Over the past four years, China-U.S. relations have gone through ups and downs, but the two sides have also been engaged in dialogue and cooperation. The relationship has remained stable on the whole.
Facts have proved that when the two countries treat each other as partners and seek common ground while shelving differences, their relationship will make considerable progress. But if they regard each other as rivals and pursue vicious competition, they will roil the relationship or even set it back.
To steer China-U.S. relations to the right courseand foster a stable, sustainable and productive China-U.S. relationship, it is necessary to draw inspiration from the past experiences and grasp the general direction of bilateral cooperation.
The interests of China and the U.S. have been closely intertwined. Win-win cooperation is a defining feature of bilateral relations, and dialogue and cooperationremain the only right choice for the two countries.
The total trade between China and the U.S. has exceeded $660 billion. Over 70,000 American companies are doing business in China, earning a profit of $50 billion annually. In terms of employment, exports to China alone support 930,000 jobs in the U.S.
Chinese products have not only offered American customers more choices, but also lowered costs for them, and Chinese investment has not only created more jobs in the U.S., but also bolstered local economies.
Around two-thirds of Qualcomm’s global revenue and a quarter of Intel’sglobal revenue come from the Chinese market. Out of Apple’s 200 major suppliers worldwide, over 80 percent have set up factories in China. Tesla alone accounted for 28.6 percent of China’s new energy vehicle exports last year.
These examples illustrate the vast potential for China-U.S.cooperation. The two countries stand to gain mutual benefits and win-win outcomes from cooperation.
The two sides should expand the list of cooperation and make a bigger pie of cooperationbased on their complementary advantages. The success of one side should be an opportunity rather than a challenge for the other, and one’s achievement should help rather than hinder the development of the other.
The world economy is facing many difficulties and challenges, and each country faces its own set of challenges. The right choice is to build an open world economy through cooperation. Neither decoupling nor supply-chain disruption is the solution. “Small yard, high fences” is not what a major country should do.
History and facts have proved that tariff war, trade war, and tech war are against the trend of history and laws of economies. Imposing restrictions or engaging in unilateralism and protectionism will inevitably disrupt normal trade cooperation and the stability of industrial and supply chains.
It is a clear-cut choice that China and the U.S. should choose cooperation over confrontation, and win-win cooperation over zero-sum games.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers recently said that centuries of economic studies and past practical experiences have shown that for major economies, initiating a global trade war is a highly detrimental choice.
China’s foreign policy is open and transparent. It is focused on managing its own affairs well to bring better lives to its people. While realizing its own development, it is also ready to work with other countries for common development and to jointlybuild a community with a shared future for mankind.
China’s policy towardthe U.S. is highly stable and consistent. Its goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged;its commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as principles for handling China-U.S. relations remains unchanged; its position of resolutely safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged; and its desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged.
The one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques are the political foundation of China-U.S. relations. They must be observed. The Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China’s path and system, and China’s development right are four red lines for China. They must not be challenged. These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-U.S. relations.
Misjudging China-U.S. relations and misinterpreting China’s development will mislead the people of both countries and the international community, resulting in more harm than good. The U.S. should view China and its development in a positive and rational light, so as to maintain a right strategic perception, which is fundamental to the China-U.S. relationship, just like the first button of a shirt that must be put right.
Both China and the U.S. are great nations, and cooperation between them is a noble endeavor. The U.S. should work with China in the same direction to find a right way for the two countrieswith different civilizations, systems, and paths to coexist in peace and achieve common development on this planet.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)
