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A historic masterstroke of China-US diplomacy

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-20 13:12

BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao is now in the United States for a state visit aimed at boosting China-US ties and expanding common ground on important regional and global affairs.

US President Barack Obama (R) and Chinese President Hu Jintao preside over a meeting with business leaders in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, Jan 19, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

"I have come to the United States to increase mutual trust, enhance friendship, deepen cooperation and push forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-US relationship for the 21st century," Hu said at the full-honors welcome ceremony at the White House on Wednesday.

Citing the 32-year-old US-China diplomatic relationship, US President Barack Obama said that with Hu's visit, the two sides "can lay the foundation for the next 30 years."

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Most prominent in the four-day tour, Hu's first trip abroad in the new year, was the Wednesday summit between the two presidents, where the two countries agreed to establish a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.

They were also expected to discuss Korean Peninsula denuclearization and other issues of common concern and reaffirm their commitment to working together with other countries to build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.

Hailed by some international relations experts as the real start of 2011, the historic visit is expected not only to steer the strategic China-US relationship forward into a bright future, but also to shed new light on major international conflicts and disputes and garner a deeper global commitment to world peace and development.

"I am convinced that there is a great opportunity to start a new era in US-China relations," former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told Xinhua in a recent interview. "I think this can be a visit of fundamental importance in charting the future."

Since their establishment in 1979, the China-US diplomatic relations have witnessed numerous ups and downs. Thanks to the courage, wisdom and patience on both sides, cooperation has now become the defining theme of the trans-Pacific interactions.

Building on the same spirit, the latest Hu-Obama summit bears witness to the strategic foresight, political wisdom and global responsibilities of the leaders of the two great nations.

With China and the United States facing common opportunities and challenges, the two sides should foster close and permanent cooperation and "have to find means of working together," added the 87-year-old US diplomatic veteran, whose highly confidential visit to China in 1971 paved the way for the eventual normalization of US-China ties.

Kissinger's comments resonated with the thinking of many others, including David Shambaugh. The renowned US expert on Chinese politics and foreign policy said that Hu's ongoing visit would "arrest the hemorrhaging of the past year" and "advance common cause where possible."

To make further strides forward, the two sides need to enhance mutual respect, particularly of their respective core interests, which is vital for keeping bilateral ties advancing in the right direction.

Hu's visit has also drawn close attention from beyond the two countries, as the leaders of the two world giants are expected to confer on the Korean Peninsula denuclearization process and the Iranian nuclear issue, among other major topics.

"The summit will have a great influence on the future of Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula," South Korea's JoongAng Daily said in an editorial on Tuesday.

Local hotelier Song Young-ok living on Yeonpyeong Island, the focal point of the exchange of artillery fire between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) late last year, told Xinhua that as a commoner, she could hardly understand the full importance of the China-US summit. "But I have learned from news reports that this meeting will help prevent South Korea and North Korea (DPRK) from shelling each other any longer and enable us to live in peace. This is what I care about," she said.

Pyongyang, for its part, is also closely following the latest China-US diplomatic event. Local newspapers noted that China and other related parties have made frequent diplomatic efforts to pull the peninsula back from the brink of war.

Also keen on the Hu-Obama rendezvous is Iran, which Professor Mohammad Marandi of Tehran University said hopes for positive results from the important meeting.

He told Xinhua that the talks between Iran and six world powers, including China and the United States, would become an effective way to end the Iranian nuclear dispute should Western nations demonstrate that they are indeed seeking a solution to the issue.

The China-US relationship is increasingly important, Professor Zaki Laidi of France's Sciences Po university said in a recent interview with Xinhua, adding that almost no major international dispute could be solved without a beforehand agreement between Beijing and Washington.

In the globalized world, China and the United States, as two heavyweight players on the international stage, have seen their national interests increasingly interwoven.

Fully aware of the call of the times, Beijing and Washington have accordingly conveyed an increasingly strong will to cooperate in countering the various global challenges.

Undoubtedly, the Chinese president's ongoing visit to the United States will promote the growth of the cooperation-dominated new international order and inject new energy into the global advance toward world peace, prosperity and development.