China and the United States—respectively the largest developing and developed nation—are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. They hence wield considerable global influence. The appropriate handling of bilateral relations between the world's two largest economies, therefore, could bring benefits both to them and to the world as a whole.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump have so far had two telephone conversations since Trump's election in November 2016. In the latest one, Xi commended Trump for agreeing to expand China-U.S. cooperation, thus fostering constructive bilateral relations which are beneficial to their countries and to the international community as a whole. Trump, meanwhile, confirmed that the U.S. Government adheres to the one-China policy. The two heads of state promised to maintain close ties, and both anticipated an official meeting before long.

"The two leaders reaching a consensus on establishing powerful bilateral relations which benefit the peoples of both nations and contribute to world peace and stability is a positive signal from the governments of China and the United States to the whole world," said Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai.

Cui, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks in an interview with China Today, a monthly magazine published by the China International Publishing Group, on the sidelines of this year's full session of the CPPCC National Committee on March 4. "I am very glad to see the two leaders achieve such a consensus at this early stage of Trump's term in office," Cui added.

"No conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation"—the principles of "a new model of major-country relationship between China and the United States"—constitute the fruits of three long conversations between President Xi and former U.S. President Barack Obama. The first was in 2013 at the Annenberg Retreat in California; the second was in 2014 at the Zhongnanhai, headquarters of China's Central Government in Beijing; and the last was in 2015 at the White House in Washington, D.C..

"If we could insist on these principles, China-U.S. relations would not fail to maintain a sound and stable direction," Cui said.

Cui reflected on the historical events in the decades that have passed since former U.S. President Richard Nixon's first visit to China 45 years ago. The two countries have since gone to great lengths to discuss and define China-U.S. relations. The international environment and national conditions of China and the United States have undergone profound changes—most notably the end of the Cold War, the global financial crisis, as well as the onset of terrorism, climate change, and frequent epidemics of communicable diseases. Yet China-U.S. relations have withstood and overcome all difficulties and continued to advance.

Cui believes that this is attributable to the great importance which several generations of the leaders of both countries have attached to bilateral relations and to their consistent consensus on maintaining sound and stable relations. China's leaders—Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai through to Xi—and successive U.S. presidents since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, regardless of whether they were Democrat or Republican, have upheld sound and stable China-U.S. relations.

"This primarily accords with our respective interests, because sound and stable relations are of benefit to us both; meanwhile it is a global responsibility of these two major countries," Cui said. "It would be disastrous for the two countries and for the world as a whole if bilateral relations were to fail or be challenged by conflict or confrontation. This is something all concerned should seek to avoid."

South China Sea

When talking about how to heal the breach regarding the South China Sea issue, Cui observed that there are misperceptions in the United States and elsewhere about China's policy and intentions in this area. One thing that should be clarified is that the disputes in the South China Sea revolve around territorial and maritime jurisdiction between China and some other littoral countries. "Although these disputes are relatively recent and the reasons for today's situation are somewhat complicated, we now acknowledge that disputes do exist about the territorial and maritime jurisdiction of this region," he said.

However, China and ASEAN countries have reached a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea that clearly states that the disputes must be resolved directly among the relevant claimant states and through peaceful and friendly negotiation rather than conflict or confrontation. This has been the desired direction and purpose of the efforts on China's part for decades.

"In that sense, since the United States has no claim on territory in this region, the South China Sea was not originally an issue between China and the United States." Cui concluded, therefore, that the South China Sea should not be a problem between China and the United States.

As to the malicious speculations of a handful of people, Cui's advice to them is not to allow a territorial dispute in a specific region to snowball into a completely different scale of global strategic competition between China and the United States. "As long as there are no misinterpretations or miscalculations, our differences remain under control."

"The concept of freedom of navigation is frequently used to justify U.S. actions in the South China Sea. But China is greatly concerned about freedom and safety of navigation, because China's outbound economy is its lifeblood," Cui said. "China is a major trading nation, and most of its cargo traverses the South China Sea. A peaceful and stable environment and freedom of navigation, therefore, accord with China's interests and remain our stance on the matter."

Realization of dreams

"The people's wish for a good life shows us the direction of endeavor." It was this statement by Xi at a press conference after he was elected general secretary of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012 that most impressed Cui.

"China has arrived at the decisive stage of realizing its first centenary goal [of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the CPC's centenary in 2021]. Our current efforts will determine whether that goal can be achieved on time and, to a large extent, the process of the second centenary goal [of building a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious country by the centenary of the People's Republic of China in 2049]. There is no doubt that China faces a major opportunity, but also various challenges," Cui said.

He went on, "The U.S. presidential election last year reflected the various social and economic problems existent in the United States. Trump's promise to 'make America great again' is in a way testament to the specific challenges that confront the nation."

Cui believes that the primary and fundamental challenges for every nation—namely, ensuring quality of governance, healthy economic development, social stability and people's well-being—are rooted in civil society. "The CPC and the Chinese Government have always regarded people's well-being as a core value and main interest," Cui said.

He pointed out that the American people have also made demands for a better life and are appealing to their government for a response. The primary task of the Chinese and American governments, as well as of other nations' administrations, is therefore to fulfill the demands of the people and make their lives better.

"If both our countries could cooperate, it would surely contribute to the realization of their respective domestic goals. If not, chaos could ensue across the world, which would exert a negative impact on both nations'development goals," Cui said.

Against the backdrop of globalization, each nation is connected. No individual state can attain development by itself while others wallow in depression and chaos. Achieving national rejuvenation is the dream of the Chinese people, while making the United States great again is the dream of the U.S. people. Both countries should join hands in seeking win-win cooperation and so enable these dreams to be realized, Cui suggested.

Copyedited by Chris Surtees

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