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New vocabulary ushers China-US relations
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-22 09:12 A series of new words have emerged to depict the
important but complex relations between China, the world biggest developing
nation, and the United States, the biggest developed nation, as 2005 ends.
Among the new terms, "stakeholder" has received the most of attention.
The word was first used for Sino-U.S. relations by U.S. Deputy Secretary of
State Robert Zoellick, who repeated it seven times in remarks delivered at a
dinner of the National Committee on US-China Relations this September.
"We now need to inspire China to become a responsible stakeholder in the
international system," Zoellick said.
According to David M Lampton, a leading US scholar on Sino-U.S. relations who
is very close to Zoellick, "stakeholder" bears similar meaning to "partner", but
more strongly implies that the United States thinks of China as an equal and
important member in the current international system that should share an
interest in maintaining that system.
"I know there is no equivalent for stakeholder in Chinese, and in the United
States the word carries a strong indication of equal rights and responsibility
and equal interests and obligations", the Johns Hopkins University professor
said in an interview with Xinhua.
China and the United States witnessed a boom in high ranking-official
exchanges in 2005. The two heads of state met five times during the year and
U.S. president Bush paid his second trip to China so far. Important US cabinet
members including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defence
Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Treasury John W. Snow, Secretary of Commerce
Carlos Gutierrez and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, also made
high-profile visits.
The two nations also held two successful strategic dialogues in August and
December on issues including trade, intellectual property protection, the Taiwan
issue, bird flu, the nuclear issue on Korean Peninsula and the RMB exchange
rate, which was described by Zoellick as "constructive".
"Stakeholder" also reflects the evolving opinion of the Bush administration,
which initially took China for a "strategic competitor" but has since placed
more emphasis on engaging the fastest growing power in the world, Lampton said.
Many other Sino-U.S. relations experts agree that the China-US bilateral
relationship has improved in an increasingly integrated international system.
Experts also believe that the stable development of relations between China and
the United States to a very large extent will determine the future prosperity of
the international community.
Qu Xing, vice president of China Foreign Affair University, said that China
and the United States share more and more similar views on various major and
important international issues.
China and the United States have a realistic need to expand common interests
and boost ties, and "constructive and cooperative relations" will be the first
option for the two nations, Qu said.
Qu also recognized that China and the United States do have differences and
even disputes on such issues as trade, the RMB exchange rate, human rights and
democracy.
Zheng Bijian, a noted Chinese theorist who was also former executive vice
president of the Party School of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central
Committee, proposed the embrace of pragmatism in U.S.-China relations, warning
that the lack of it thereof could lead to conflict.
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