Biden welcomes China's rise at Washington talks
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E-mail Shanghai Daily via agencies, July 11, 2013
China's rise is good for the US and the world, US Vice President Joe Biden said at the opening of the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the two world powers Wednesday.
In the two-day dialogue, cabinet-level officials will review security and economic issues that reflect growing ties but also deep-seated differences between the two countries.
Biden noted that the two countries have their disagreements. "But if we are straight forward, clear, and predictable with one other, we can find solutions that work for both of us."
Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew are leading the US side, which includes more than a dozen government agency heads. A similarly heavyweight Chinese delegation is led by Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi.
Officials taking part in the two days of talks at the State Department and Treasury in Washington will address US anxiety over cybertheft, North Korea's nuclear program and US trade and investment in China. They will also discuss cooperation on tackling climate change.
The US and Chinese economies are increasingly interconnected. Dialogue is better than confrontation and is important for both countries, Wang said.
The fifth round of talks now stands at a new starting point as the two nations have both entered a new era of development and come together to explore a new type of relations between major countries, Yang said.
The dialogue is critical to generating practical cooperation on issues across the bilateral relationship and a place where the two nations can make real progress, Lew added.
Enhancing mutual trust
Highlighting that the first strategic and economic dialogue was really a "landmark event," Kerry said, "with each passing year, we've been able to build on this dialogue. And now, I think, we've made it the key mechanism for managing cooperation and competition between our countries."
China and the United States have been holding the annual talks since 2009, as a major channel of communication to enhance mutual trust, boost cooperation and properly handle differences.
A longtime Washington concern in its relations with China - the low value of the Chinese currency and its impact on the skewed trade balance - has eased as the yuan has appreciated in value against the dollar. These days, the Obama administration is putting most emphasis on cybertheft of intellectual property and trade secrets.
"We both will benefit from an open, secure, reliable Internet. Outright cyber-enabling theft that US companies are experiencing now must be viewed as out of bounds and needs to stop," Biden said.
China says it is also the victim of hacking.
Biden brought up China's territorial disputes with neighbors, saying both Pacific powers "benefit from freedom of navigation and uninhibited lawful commerce."
Biden warned that "strong voices on both sides of the Pacific" see ties between the US and China "in terms of mistrust and suspicion."
"I've heard the US-China relationship described as everything from the next Cold War to the new G2 and, the truth is, neither are accurate," he said.
"Our relationship is and will continue to be, God willing, a mix of competition and cooperation. And competition can be good for both of us, and cooperation is essential," he said.
