Scholar: U.S., China strategic, economic dialogue to underpin relations across broad array of fronts

by Liu Hong

WASHINGTON, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) is an important annual meeting that underpins the U.S. and China relations across a broad array of fronts, Drew Thompson, director of China Studies at the Nixon Center said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"It is important to have an annual venue for senior leaders from both sides to meet and discuss issues of mutual concern," said Thompson.

"The S&ED's true value lies in its ability to bring the two sides closer together and increase mutual understanding," he said.

The Chinese and U.S. bureaucracies do not always align perfectly in an organizational sense, so having multi-agency meeting helped create linkages between the two countries' agencies that otherwise would not have naturally seat across the table from one another, he explained.

The division of the new talks into two tracks, one strategic track under China's State Counselor Dai Bingguo and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and one economic track under Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner gives the dialogue "both the depth and breadth to cover a wide range of issues under the framework," he noted.

"With its long-term, strategic outlook, the S&ED will focus on sustaining dialogue on long-range issues and coordinating existing bilateral dialogues, rather than focusing on concrete outcomes and firm, clearly defined short-term objectives," said Thompson.

"This holistic, long-term approach to manage the relationship comes more naturally to the Chinese side, but something the U.S. side, with its different political system, will learn to adjust to," he added.

Thompson has called for the new dialogue between the two countries when President Barack Obama came into office early this year, saying the Obama administration will have to quickly establish the right mechanisms to guide and coordinate China policy and effectively engage Chinese counterparts.

"Keeping the U.S.-China relationship on an even keel is vitally important for both countries and will be particularly tricky in the midst of a global financial crisis," he noted.