Building a better table: what next for the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue?
Too many bureaucrats with too little power and a loss of focus have weakened the talks, analysts say
China and the United States should overhaul their annual strategic meeting to make it a more effective negotiating table, analysts from both nations say.
The China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue – which brings together more than 100 high-ranking officials – was often hindered by bureaucracy, and the next US administration should rework its structure, they said.
The latest round concluded in Beijing yesterday, with pledges by Beijing and Washington to tackle excess steel capacity and enforce sanctions against North Korea. But the two sides remained divided over other key issues such as disputes in the South China Sea.
The dialogue was established by the administration of US President Barack Obama in 2009 – upgrading a mechanism started under his predecessor, George W. Bush. Analysts said the meetings might be phased out after the US election this year, even if Hillary Clinton – one of the architects
of the dialogue – was elected president.
South China Sea tensions set to overshadow annual China-US strategic and economic dialogue
“The current format of the dialogue has turned into an extremely large gathering of officials and it is not efficient to have so many ministers and deputy ministers involved at the same time,” said David Dollar, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.