BUILDING SINO-U.S. TIES: Former U.S. Ambassador to China James R. Sasser (left), Representative Mark Kirk (center) and Representative Adam Schiff participate in the Committee of 100's annual conference on May 1 in Washington, D.C. (CHEN WEN)

When members and guests of the Committee of 100, a well-known non-political organization comprised of prominent Chinese-Americans of various professions, convened in Washington, D.C. for their 18th annual conference from April 30 to May 2, right after U.S. President Barack Obama marked his first 100 days in office, the hottest issue they discussed was the Obama administration's policy toward China and how the two countries can work together to deal with the current economic chaos.

In his first 100 days, President Obama was occupied with addressing major world problems including the economic and financial crisis, climate change, North Korea's nuclear program and energy security. "None of these problems can be addressed successfully without the active and sustained participation of China," Jeffrey Bader, Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, told conference participants on May 1.

The Obama administration is not the first to recognize the importance of involving China in international affairs, Bader said. But the difference now is, China's growth and rise in the last decade has increased its potential role in solving these problems. "President Obama understands this and is not conflicted about seeking China's involvement," Bader said.

The president's personal style of diplomacy, Bader observed, is "pragmatic." He said that the president has ideals but not ideology, and sees China as a "major global player" but not "an inevitable threat."

Obama, being pragmatic, appointed three Chinese Americans to Cabinet positions: Chris Lu as cabinet secretary, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu as secretary of energy and Gary Locke, the nation's first Chinese-American governor, as secretary of commerce.

As the economic crisis and climate change move to the center of China-U.S. relations, Chu and Locke, to some extent, elevate the prospect of bilateral cooperation on these two pressing issues.

Bader said that past administrations have run into issues that complicated the relationship between China and the United States, such as human rights, bilateral trade, and military and cross-Straits relations. He pointed out that "finger-pointing," "lecturing" or "hectoring" is not the right way to solve these issues. The president "is looking forward to reaching out to the Chinese audience and connecting with them," he said.

According to Bader, strengthening relations with China does not mean that China would replace America's old alliances with Japan and South Korea. Admitting that the idea of G2--a phrase frequently used during the G20 summit in London in early April, referring to China and the United States as the world's two most influential powers--makes him a little nervous, Bader said that it denies the fundamental good policy of the United States in Asia, which relies on many different relationships.

Former U.S. Ambassador to China James R. Sasser, speaking at the conference, said that negative attitudes have hurt bilateral ties in the past.

"Many times, we have noticed that on the one hand the executive branch of the U.S. Government reached out to China and tried to establish a cordial relationship with China, but on the other hand the equally powerful Congress was suspicious about it, hostile toward it and even passed legislative resolutions that, to some extent, really hampered the executive branch's efforts," he said.

But he also pointed out that in recent years the U.S. Congress has developed a more "mature" and "sophisticated" attitude toward China and recognized that China's rise could benefit both China and the United States.

Mark Kirk, a Republican congressman from Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives, echoed Ambassador Sasser by saying that in terms of their attitude toward China, there are usually three tribes in the U.S. Government.

"The White House tribe, being Republican or Democratic, has nuanced and very sophisticated views toward Beijing," said Kirk. The Senate tribe sees China as "a series of ups and downs," while the House tribe is "relentlessly negative" toward China, with the majority of Republicans viewing China as a military threat and the majority of Democrats viewing China as an economic threat.

"There is so much misinformation that great errors have been created by House representatives' lack of knowledge of China," Kirk said. For example, he said, some believe that China does not allow any U.S. or foreign investment in the country. "That's completely not true," he said.

Kirk co-founded the bipartisan Congressional U.S.-China Working Group with Democratic Congressman Rick Larsen in 2005, "to build diplomatic relations with China and to make the Congress more aware of U.S.-China issues."

The group is "open to all persuasions on China" and has since grown to more than 60 Republicans and Democrats, by far the most active country caucus on Capitol Hill, said Kirk.

Joining Kirk in the discussion was Adam Schiff, a House Democrat from California.

Schiff, who represents a district with a large Chinese-American population, said that the meeting between President Obama and President Hu Jintao at the G20 summit was "an important signal to the world that both the United States and China realized that they cannot solve these economic problems separately, but must work together."

(Reporting from Washington, D.C.)