China and the US make for uneasy bedfellows
Tim Summers says the Chinese and American views of their relationship are fundamentally mismatched, and avoiding confrontation takes work
The latest US-China strategic and economic dialogue wrapped up in Washington last week with a generally positive tone. Among the issues on which immediate progress has been reported were climate change and agreement from China to begin talks on a bilateral investment treaty.
These annual talks and the many sectoral dialogues that accompany them provide a good framework for regular and detailed exchanges. The real test of the dialogue, though, will be the ongoing ability of the two sides to understand each other's positions, and to make practical progress in resolving issues on their bilateral agendas or which are of global concern.
The dialogue is also valuable in providing insights into the way that the two governments view each other, and the sort of relationship they would like to achieve, in the context of their respective domestic politics.
From the US side, in his introductory remarks, Vice-President Joe Biden stressed the concept of building "trust" between the two countries. This responds to views that the relationship is characterised by "strategic mistrust". What is less clear, however, is what this "trust" might entail in practical terms.
Signs of mistrust of China coming from within the US political establishment are aplenty. Last week's congressional hearings on the proposed acquisition by Chinese company Shuanghui of US pork producer Smithfield is a good example of this.
An alternative interpretation is that the US desires China to show greater "trust" towards it, not dissimilar from earlier administrations' calls for Beijing to behave "responsibly". What this might mean in practice needs more spelling out, in particular whether it entails more than asking the Chinese government simply to accept US approaches to issues where views differ.