Opinion

Meeting offers big chance for progress

By Lan Lan (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-19 07:12

BEIJING - Although the relationship between China and the United States involves many issues, Ted Dean, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, expects the upcoming meeting between President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama to focus on cooperative efforts.

"The importance of meetings like this is not only to work on some tough issues but also to remind both sides of the opportunities for cooperation," Dean said in an interview with China Daily, adding he expects a successful visit and good dialogue.

"This is an important time for President Hu to go to the United States and a great opportunity for the two countries to engage in this level and talk about issues and interests of both sides," he said.

Special Coverage:  Hu Jintao's visit to US

The commercial issue is one central pillar of bilateral ties and the "positive and good outcomes" from the US-China trade talks in December have laid a solid foundation for the visit, Dean said.

The two sides exchanged views on issues including intellectual property rights protection, and trade and investment policies at the annual meeting of the US- China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in Washington in December.

Further progress is needed, but consensus is not required on every issue, and more significantly, it's an opportunity to remind both sides of the big issues that they can work on together, Dean said.

"If allying the US' policy objectives with that of China's around big issues such as energy and climate change can bring in the commercial interests that companies are seeking for to sell their solutions and products, the two sides can create interesting win-win solutions," he said.

Cooperation between China and the US on clean energy has moved forward and a number of agreements relating to clean energy cooperation are expected to be signed during this visit.

During Obama's visit to Beijing in November 2009, the two countries launched the joint US-China Clean Energy Research Center and other projects on clean energy cooperation.

Dean also said he expects there will be great conversations about Chinese investment in the US during the summit as that is important to a healthy relationship.

"Having more Chinese companies invested in the United States will help the US economy and create more jobs, and that's also good for mutual understanding between the countries and will have more Chinese companies integrated into the US economy," he said.

A number of Chinese companies have encountered bottlenecks when investing in the US and companies called on the world's largest economy to improve its investment environment.

"Unfortunately there were some cases tougher than they should be," Dean said.

Solutions to removing obstacles for Chinese companies to invest in the US include ensuring the US market remains open, while Chinese companies should be more transparent, he said.

Meanwhile, Dean said US companies in China would continue to benefit from China's ongoing economic development and transformation as the nation has emphasized internal consumption and domestic demands.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/19/2011 page2)