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Keira Lu Huang

Stephen Orlins, 65, first worked on US-Sino ties in 1977.
The Harvard law graduate and former diplomat and Hong Kong banker with Lehman Brothers Asia heads the non-profit National Committee on United States-China Relations. 
He co-hosted last month's dinner for President Xi Jinpingin Seattle before his US state visit in Washington. 
He spoke to KEIRA LU HUANG.
Read more: Anyone for table tennis? Five decades of major milestones in China’s diplomatic ties with US
What was it like when you first visited China?
I arrived in Beijing in 1979. It took about 25 hours to fly from New York, to Tokyo, Shanghai and finally Beijing. Driving with my wife from the old Beijing airport to the Beijing Hotel, where I lived for the next couple of years, I did not see another car on the road. I was there to teach contract law to Beijing municipal officials, and also represent foreign companies investing in China now that it had opened up.
What got you interested in China?
I was fortunate to join the US State Department in 1976 after graduation. As I'd studied Chinese [while at Harvard], after a year I joined a team preparing to set up diplomatic relations with China. I was 28 when they were established.
What did you think about meeting Xi in Seattle?

I introduced President Xi to many American businessmen [at the dinner]. When the line of people waiting to meet him was finished, and everyone had shaken his hand, I said, 'There is one person that hasn't taken a photo with you, and that is me', and he smiled. Then we shook hands and smiled at the camera. He seemed very energised; he was very warm.
It was interesting to hear him describe the literature he has read - including Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea ... it's humanising: it's not policy, it just makes him someone that American people can understand, someone who cares about the world. It was an enormous success … as we would say, a home run
Stephen Orlins
His speech at the dinner was one of the most unusual I've ever heard a Chinese leader give. The audience gave him a deserved standing ovation.
He was telling the American people that, when you look at China, you need to understand that in just one generation we've come from where we were to where we are today.
Conveying this kind of an approach - talking about their roots and how that has formed their thinking - is what a US politician would do: it allows the American government and the people to understand what forms his judgments. They may not agree with it all, but will at least understand. I haven't heard a leader do it outside of China, I thought that was extremely effective.
It was also interesting to hear him describe the literature he has read - including Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea - and of going to [Havana's El Floridita] bar where Hemingway went, and having the [rum] mojito [cocktails] Hemingway drank. Again, it's humanising: it's not policy, it just makes him someone that American people can understand, someone who cares about the world, reads, and is interested in foreign cultures. It was an enormous success … as we would say, a home run.
How has Xi's image changed since that visit?
The change in Xi's image is real. If you were watching, you could not fail to be impressed by [him]: he is a global leader. The American people don't really know who Xi is. They just see this leader of almost 1.4 billion of people. On my discussions with people in China and the Chinese government, leading up to the visit, I thought it was important he and the first lady, Peng Liyuan , should convey who they are - talk about their backgrounds, what they've done, their vision for the future.
How would you rate Xi's US visit?
On a scale from one to 10, I would give Xi's US visit an 11. I think it was remarkably successful
Stephen Orlins
On a scale from one to 10, I would give it an 11. I think it was remarkably successful. I compliment both the Chinese government and the US government that we saw real substantive progress on a broad range of issues. They were able to start down the road of decreasing the problem [over cybersecurity] - potentially solving it. That was very important as it was probably the biggest problem in the relationship. The climate change agreements are historic. As for Xi's commitment not to "militarise" the South China Sea islands, I am interpreting that to mean there won't be military aircraft or the stationing of missiles there.

I also think Xi's speech at the UN, and China's commitment to funding various activities [including US$1 billion to a 10-year joint China-UN peace and development fund] is historic in many ways and makes China the responsible stakeholder that the world wants it to be.
Are you worried that verbal agreements will be implemented?
Implementation of these agreements is going to define whether this was tremendously successful or only somewhat successful. Having said that, the agreements in principle across this broad range of issues far exceeded what analysts expected before the visit. [But] I wish there had been more progress on a bilateral investment treaty, which could be another pillar of the US-Sino relationship.
Are you worried about China's economic slowdown?
The old economy - steel, cement, construction, construction equipment, real estate and heavy industry - isn't growing: it's probably contracting. And there is enormous excess capacity in those sectors. The new economy - travel, leisure, the internet, telecommunications - is growing incredibly rapidly, at more than 10 per cent. The good news is the service sector, which is more a part of the new economy, where each per cent of growth in China's gross domestic product creates more jobs than the old economy. The assurance I want - which we got - was for increased reform, increased use of market forces, increased transparency. That's what's going make China successful - not increased stimulus.
How do you see post-Obama US-Sino relations?
Everyone of the agreements during Xi's visit is in America's interest. The questions a new president faces will be, 'Is this good for the American people ... for jobs? … for the economy? … for American strategic interest?' If the answer is yes, yes, yes and yes, why wouldn't they do it?
Americans look at the Chinese political system and it is not democratic - it is authoritarian. And they don't like that. The Chinese see America's negative views as interference.
Campaign rhetoric in the US, with respect to China has rarely become policy when a president is elected. What we are hearing now [from US presidential hopefuls] is not something that will be implemented by the person wins the presidency.
 


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Xi's US Visit 2015

Stephen Orlins

President Xi Jinping talks about how the Chinese symbol for the word 'people' resembles two sticks supporting each other during his speech at a banquet in Seattle on September 22. Photo: AP

President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arrive in Everett, in Washington state, at the start of his September visit to the US. Photo: Reuters

Anyone for table tennis? Five decades of major milestones in China’s diplomatic ties with US

Chairman Mao Zedong meets US President Richard Nixon in 1972. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Richard Nixon salutes his supporters in 1968 during his successful campaign for the US presidency. Photo: Reuters

The US table tennis team stand with their Chinese counterparts in front of a pagoda outside Beijing in April 1971. Photo: SCMP Pictures

China's Premier Zhou Enlai (sixth from left, front row) with Chinese officials and members of the US table tennis team in Beijing in 1971. Photo: Government of the People's Republic of China 

Members of the US table tennis team visit the Great Wall outside Beijing during their 1971 visit. Photo: Xinhua

Click on me: how the Post reported the visit on April 12, 1971. Photo: SCMP Pictures

US President Richard Nixon is greeted by Chinese leader Mao Zedong in February 1972. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Click on me: how the Post reported Richard Nixon's visit on February 23, 1972. Photo: SCMP Pictures

US President Richard Nixon talks with China's Premier Zhou Enlai during his 1972 visit. Photo: SCMP Pictures

China's Premier Zhou Enlai greets US President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, after their arrival at the start of their visit in 1972. Photo: SCMP Pictures

US President Richard Nixon inspects a guard of honour, accompanied by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1972. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Click on me: how the Post reported US President Nixon's arrival in China on February 22, 1972. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Click on me: how the Post reported US President Nixon's first day in China on February 22, 1972. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The two Chinese giant pandas Hsing-Hsing (left) and Ling-Ling in their new home in the National Zoo in Washington. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese vice-premier Deng Xiaoping (left) with US President Jimmy Carter after his arrival in the US in January 29, 1979. Photo: SCMP Pictures

China’s vice-premier Deng Ziaoping visits a US car factory on February 2, 1979. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Deng Xiaoping waves to the delighted crowd at a rodeo in Texas during his 1979 trip to the US. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A man stands in front of Chinese tanks on June 5, 1989, the day after the crackdown on protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Photo: Reuters

President Jiang Zemin gives a speech, watched by US President Bill Clinton, on his arrival in Washington on October 29, 1997.  Photo: AP

US President Bill Clinton waves to students at Peking University during his visit to the campus in Beijing on June 29, 1998. Photo: AFP

More than 100 Chinese students carry slogans saying 'Blood for Blood' during protests over the deaths of three Chinese journalists when the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade was shelled by Nato forces.  Photo: AFP

Some of the crew members of the US spy plane stand at attention after their return to the US on April 12, 2001. Photo: AP

US President George W. Bush (left) praises China for its support following the September 11 terrorist attacks as President Jiang Zemin looks on during their joint press conference on October 19, 2001. Photo: Reuters

US President Barack Obama arrives at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport at the start of his three-day visit to China on November 15, 2009. Photo: Reuters

Vice-President Xi Jinping greets residents in Iowa, on his return to the state during his trip to the US on February 16, 2012. Photo: AFP

Vice-President Xi Jinping (left)  sits with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office at the White House, during his visit to Washington on February 14, 2012. Photo: AP

President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan will arrive in the US on Tuesday. File photo: Reuters

President Xi Jinping, who arrives in Seattle on Tuesday, visited the United States in 2012 (above) when he was vice-president. File photo: AP

Chinese President Xi Jinping crowns US state visit with deal on cyberespionage

Xi said he and Obama had reached "a lot of consensus" on cybersecurity while Obama said both countries would refrain from state-sponsored cybertheft of intellectual property. Photo: Xinhua

Xi addresses a UN development summit in New York. Photo: EPA

Chinese President Xi Jinping (third left) holds talks with US President Barack Obama (third right) in Washington. Photo: Xinhua

China's US$3 billion pledge to help countries tackle climate change is a sign of growing confidence as a leading player in world affairs

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks as his wife Madame Peng Liyuan and US President Barack Obama listen during a state dinner at the White House in Washington on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Xi (second left) attends a luncheon hosted by US Vice President Joe Biden (left) and Secretary of State John Kerry (right) at the State Department in Washington D.C. on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

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Stephen Orlins, head of National Committee on United States-China Relations, who co-hosted October dinner for Xi in Seattle before his US state visit in Washington in September
