Beijing Review: What are your views on the significance of the 1972 Shanghai Communique and the development of China-U.S. relations in the past 35 years?

Jeffrey A. Bader: The Shanghai Communique provided the basis for the resumption of relations between the United States and China and after years in which there was virtually no contact. It did so not by suggesting that the two sides had common views on difficult issues, but instead by allowing each side to lay out its own view and encouraging each side to understand and respect the other's perspective. That was a sound and realistic basis for the resumption of contacts between two countries that disagreed on much more than they agreed upon.

Since then, our relationship has developed massively in many respects, and we have developed many common interests. This has brought us to a stage in our relationship that goes well beyond the guidelines of the communique.

Jerome A. Cohen: The secret Kissinger trip to Beijing in July 1971 and the February 1972 visit by President Nixon that it made possible did just what many students of Sino-American relations had hoped for. They reversed the tragic, hostile relationship that had existed for more than two decades and set our nations on an exciting and positive new course, one that both sides continue to benefit from today in many ways.

What are the thorniest issues in current China-U.S. relations and how should they be dealt with? Is there anything we can learn from the Shanghai Communique in terms of handling current bilateral relations?

Jeffrey A. Bader: The thorniest issues in U.S.-China relations are how to deal with countries that threaten to disrupt international peace and stability, how to develop a more stable and balanced economic and trade relationship, and how to deal with Taiwan. The Shanghai Communique language on threats to international peace and stability has largely been superseded by events and the emergence of crises of different kinds than the ones we were dealing with in 1972.

The spirit of the Shanghai Communique and its language on Taiwan remain relevant to how we address the issue today, in particular the "one China" policy of the United States that is implicit in the communique's formulations.

Minxin Pei: There are two types of thorny issues in Sino-U.S. relations-long-term and short-term.

In the short term, the most difficult issue is trade, which the United States views as unfair. China has a trade surplus with the United States of over $200 billion. In the context of rising anxiety about job losses in the United States due to globalization, such huge imbalances are not politically sustainable.

In the long term, the differences in the political systems of the two countries are clearly the most difficult issue.