The Three Joint Communiqués published between 1972 and 1982 and three joint statements in 1997,2009 and 2011 constitute the existing framework of China-US relations. However, it increasingly falls short of the needs on the ground, Yuan Peng, president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told Shanghai-based news portal
The Paper in an interview, proposing the elements for a new framework.
When created, the three documents concerned mainly the Taiwan issue and world order. Today, the two countries need to engage in issues like the North Korean nuclear issue, the South China Sea and climate change. So the existing framework needs to be complemented by a new arrangement to better solve their new conflicts, Yuan argued.
To create it, the two should form a consensus on the general trends of the world, as shown by the experience of the Three Joint Communiqués, he proposed. But the two are hamstrung over making a consensus by their differences on some major issues like trade and globalization. The US should take a pragmatic perspective to the evolution of the balance of power with China, accepting it as a stakeholder and welcoming its peaceful rise. China should give reassurances to the US that its rise will not come as a challenge to US supremacy, he said.
The ongoing trade war is just a countercurrent in the Sino-US relationship. After years of development, the two’s economic and trade interests are deeply entwined, so the only way forward is through structural reforms and cooperation, the expert noted. The two sides will return to the track of negotiation and communication over major issues.
Then the two sides can negotiate the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) and the arrangement for peaceful coexistence in the Asia-Pacific region. Such an arrangement will not be developed in one go, but gradually, Yuan said, proposing that a peace mechanism in northeast Asia and the South China Sea is a good start.
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