U.S. & "Positive, Cooperative and Comprehensive" China Ties

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington - The United States and China are at "a critical juncture" and will need to pursue wise policies and be honest about their differences to keep their bilateral relationship "on a positive trajectory," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says.

In remarks at the State Department ( http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2011/January/20110114133542su0.1029866.html ) January 14, Clinton said that, three decades after establishing bilateral relations, "our economies are entwined, and so are our futures." In a new international landscape characterized by the influences of globalization and nontraditional or nonstate entities, the world is "moving through unchartered territory," and both countries need to look beyond outdated political theories that suggest China's rise will lead to conflict, she said.

"Some in the region and some here at home see China's growth as a threat that will lead either to Cold War-style conflict or American decline. And some in China worry that the United States is bent on containing China's rise and constraining China's growth. ... We reject those views," Clinton said.

"A thriving America is good for China, and a thriving China is good for America," she said, and U.S. friends and allies in the Asia-Pacific "want to move beyond outdated, zero-sum formulas that might force them to choose between relations with Beijing and relations with Washington."

The Obama administration intends to pursue a "positive, cooperative, and comprehensive relationship" with China and recognizes that its efforts will require "careful, steady, dynamic stewardship" that is grounded in reality, is results-oriented, and remains true to U.S. principles and interests.

Clinton said both countries "have to be honest about our differences" and need to "avoid unrealistic expectations that can be disappointed" by continuing efforts to expand areas of cooperation and narrow areas of disagreement.

She said the United States will continue to speak out on China's human rights record, including its censorship of bloggers, imprisonment of political activists and prohibition of religious freedom.

"As a founding member of the United Nations, China has committed to respecting the rights of all its citizens. These are universal rights recognized by the international community," she said.

By living up to its human rights obligations, China stands to improve its long-term peace, stability and prosperity, she added.

"An independent, impartial judicial system and respect for the rule of law would protect citizens' property and guarantee that inventors can profit from their ideas. Freedom of expression for everyone ... would help foster the open exchange of ideas that is essential to innovation and a creative economy. A vibrant civil society would help address some of China's most pressing issues, from food safety to pollution to education to health care," Clinton said.

The United States and China currently enjoy a positive relationship and have "the chance for a very positive future," she said. The Obama administration welcomes China's rise and its efforts to lift its people out of poverty and to "export prosperity and opportunity."

Urging "real action on real issues," Clinton said the United States is looking to China to join it in "meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow" with the goal of a better world.

ENDS

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