HONG KONG, Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At a pivotal
point in China-US relations, in
the midst of COVID-19, and days following the inauguration of
President Joe Biden, the United States and China are facing profound changes in their
relationship and must work to bring stability back to the world
community of which these nations are two of its most important
members, agreed panelists in a session today during the "US-China
Relations: The Way Forward" forum hosted by the China-U.S. Exchange
Foundation (CUSEF) and the China Center for International Economic
Exchanges (CCIEE).
Over 40 past and current major stakeholders and influencers in
the China-U.S. relationship including, former Prime Minister
of Japan Yasuo Fukuda, CCIEE
Chairman and former PRC Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan, former Prime
Minister of Italy and former
President of the European Commission Romano Prodi, former U.S.
Secretary of Commerce Carlos
Gutierrez, CPPCC Vice Chairman Tung Chee-hwa, current
government officials, senior business leaders and renowned scholars
from the United States,
China, and other Asia Pacific countries came together virtually
in an effort to address the current challenges facing bilateral
relations. The discussion focused on how China and the U.S. should move forward in
light of the incoming U.S. administration and use the opportunity
to identify areas of cooperation between the two countries to
tackle global challenges including climate change, the environment,
food security, cyber security and COVID-19.
In an opening greeting to the forum, Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region, stressed that, "with the incoming
46th President of the U.S. we hope that bilateral relations between
the world's two leading economies will start to improve, providing
the impetus of global recovery." Ms. Lam added that both President
Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden
echoed their commitment to international cooperation on important
issues going forward, specifically in global efforts to eradicate
the pandemic.
Adding to the optimism and hope for progress in both trade and
policy negotiations between the U.S. and China, CCIEE Chairman Zeng Peiyan said
that in order to seek win-win cooperation, China and the U.S. must first rebuild mutual
trust by restarting and improving multi-level engagement mechanisms
and ultimately, using that dialogue as the fundamental conduit to
address issues and challenges in order to play a leading role in
managing relations. He also stressed that the two countries must
"reshape and restart economic and trade relations, which have
always been the ballast and stabilizer of the overall
relationship."
In addition to this, global governance will be essential during
an era of heightened risk. Speakers stressed their optimism of a
new American president, but also spoke candidly of the challenges
that will remain on both sides due to the innate political frames
of both countries. "I don't think there will be a major change
between China and U.S. relations
despite the new administration. However, there will be more
dialogue," said Romano Prodi, former Prime Minister of
Italy and former President of the
European Commission. "The tensions within the U.S. and competition
with China are prevalent amongst
both the Republicans and Democrats. Thus, there will be a necessity
for deeper dialogue and exchange of views."
Former Prime Minister of Japan
Yasuo Fukuda stressed
that less division and instability is something all nations are
seeking given the risks and problems that need to be resolved
immediately, which cannot be solved without the United States and its global leadership,
especially in international trade and finance. However, he notes
that "the U.S. must first contain the biggest issue – COVID-19,
before it can help the rest of the world."
Emphasizing the detrimental effects of a complete China-U.S.
decoupling, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez firmly believes that this
bilateral relationship should not be one based solely on
transactions, but rather one that encourages a more strategic
partnership, which increases areas of collaboration while
eradicating areas of friction. "When you call someone an enemy,
they become your enemy. We [U.S.] are not an enemy of China, and I don't think China is an enemy of us. Words matter." Former
U.S. Trade Representative Carla
Hills echoed this same sentiment by predicting that
there will be significant changes in how the U.S. handles its
international relationships. In her eyes, "the tone in which we
deal with all international governments, including China, will be more diplomatic."
In the closing remarks of today's session, Tung Chee-hwa,
the founder and Chairman of CUSEF, referenced both President Xi
Jinping and President Biden in sharing their mutual goals to
address global challenges including fighting climate change and
COVID-19. He underscored that the world needs assurance that all
nations will abide by the same rules-based system and that
China will work to protect the
rules-based system and maintain global harmony. Addressing areas of
cooperation, Mr. Tung explained, "President Biden has said that his
four priorities are the pandemic, the economy, climate change, and
racial injustice. There is no question that the two countries can
work together in at least the first three priorities." In his
opinion, "It is time to turn the page of the negatives of the past
few years and start to work with one another again."
The second day of the forum will host panels on the future of
trade and the economy in connection to US-China relations. Keynote
speakers will include: Michael
Spence, Nobel Laureate in Economics and Philip H. Knight
Professor Emeritus of Management in the Graduate School of Business
at Stanford University; Zhang
Xiaoqiang, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
at CCIEE; Stephen Roach,
Senior Fellow at the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs and
Senior Lecturer at Yale; Bi
Jingquan, Executive Vice Chairman of CCIEE and Vice Chairman of
the Committee on Economic Affairs or the 13th CPPCC
National Committee; plus a host of well-known panel speakers from
both the U.S. and China. The third
day will cover technology and global challenges, and
people-to-people exchange, with keynote speakers including
Steven Chu, Nobel Laureate in
Physics and Former U.S. Secretary of Energy; Xie Zhenhua,
Special Adviser on Climate Change Affairs of the Ministry of
Ecology and Environment of China;
Stephen Orlins, President of
the NCUSCR; and Wang Chao,
President of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs;
also followed by panels of other distinguished speakers.
Note to Editors:
About the China - United
States Exchange Foundation
The China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) is an
independent, non-profit and non-governmental foundation committed
to the belief that a positive and peaceful relationship between the
strongest developed nation and the most populous, fast-developing
nation is essential for global wellbeing. Founded in Hong Kong in 2008 and privately funded, CUSEF
builds platforms to encourage constructive dialogue and diverse
exchanges between the people of the U.S. and China. For more information please visit
https://www.cusef.org.hk/.
About the China Center for International Economic
Exchanges
Founded on March 20th,
2009, China Center for International Economic Exchanges
(CCIEE), is a social organization and a new type of think tank,
registered with and approved by the relevant authorities of the
Chinese government. Guided by the philosophy of "Originality,
Objectivity, Rationality and Compatibility", CCIEE aims to serve
national development, improve people's welfare and promote
exchanges and cooperation by conducting research on strategic and
economic issues both at home and abroad, developing international
exchanges and cooperation and providing consulting services and
intellectual support to the government and business in decision
making. For more information, visit www.cciee.org.cn.
Media contact:
CUSEF
contactus@cusef.org.hk