Recently in America’s media, the upcoming meeting of the American and Chinese heads of state has drawn increasing attention. On April 27, high-level American officials visited China to pave the way for the meeting between Obama and Xi Jinping. The meeting will take place about the same time as the 2013 Fortune Global Forum on June 6 to June 8 in Chengdu. While the forum is regarded as creating new opportunities for Sino-American friendship, the real focal point and source of anticipation is the meeting of Obama and Xi Jinping.
On June 7 and 8, the Walter and Lenore Annenberg Estate in California will attract the entire world’s attention. It is then that China’s Chairman Xi Jinping and America’s President Obama will begin a new legacy. The leaders of the world’s number one and number two economic giants will be sitting down together while the whole world holds its breath.
During those two days, the American and Chinese heads of state will exchange pleasantries and relax. In such a natural, relaxing environment, conversations will be more in-depth, more thorough and more honest. Such a meeting has not taken place in over 30 years of Sino-American diplomatic relations. Strengthening communication between the two leaders is pioneering work that will promote a gradual increase in pragmatism in the Sino-American relationship. This is a reflection of the hopes of both parties.
With all this talk about how and where the meeting will take place, is the public interested in what the two leaders will actually discuss?
Meeting with U.S. National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon on May 27, Chairman Xi Jinping said he looked forward to meeting with Obama to discuss major strategic issues of mutual concern and to deepen understanding, enhance trust and promote cooperation.
Today, the Sino-American relationship is undoubtedly the most important and the most difficult in the world. Both parties simultaneously face unprecedented opportunities and monumental challenges. Currently, traditional and nontraditional security threats, intertwined with high and low profile political conflicts, add yet another complex variable to the development of Sino-American relations.
How the many differences and contradictions are managed will determine whether the relationship between the two countries remains stable. It is especially important in these circumstances to strengthen the molding and shaping of Sino-American relations. Direct, face-to-face dialogue and mutual planning will set a proper tone for the future.
The 21st century may be a century of cooperation and mutual benefit, or it may be a century of no-win situations. This will largely be decided by the evolution of Sino-American relations — the two countries can either cooperate or remain divided. For this reason, China is using novel methods to develop relations, and America is responding positively. This clearly demonstrates that the two countries realize their historic responsibility.
During the dialog between President Obama and Chairman Xi Jinping on March 14, the leaders reached a consensus that America and China must structure a new pattern for relationship building.
Xi Jinping commented that China and America have many common interests, while conflicting priorities are also at play. China has been steadfast in maintaining and promoting continual development in Sino-American relations, and is working with America to assure the direction of the countries’ relationship and promote partnership building.
Obama has said that China and the U.S. currently have an historic opportunity to establish the future direction of the two countries. America hopes to make a joint effort with China to maintain communication between the two heads of state, to strengthen the existing dialogue, to continually promote the development of stable relations and to build a structure based on healthy competition rather than strategic games played between the two world powers.
When President Xi Jinping returns from his trip to Latin America and arrives in California, he should embrace this new direction in the two nations’ relationship. Obama will fly from the East Coast to the West Coast to meet the Chinese president at a middle point. This arrangement will provide ample time for contemplation. The meeting point in itself holds symbolic significance. That is to say, both parties must take the same path in order to not miss one another.
The author, a highly qualified news analyst, is the vice director of the Chinese Institute of International Studies.
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