China and the United States established their formal diplomatic relations three decades ago (on January 1, 1979), and opened a new era in Sino-U.S. relations. In the past 30 years, Sino-U.S. ties have been making historical progress in volatile international situation.
To compare with what they were like three decades ago, Sino-U.S. relations have now become one of the most important and dynamic bilateral relationships in the world. With the high-level close ties, leaders of both countries meet annually on a couple of occasions, and they often make telephone calls to each other and keep up in correspondence. There are now more than 60 mechanisms of dialogue and cooperation existing between China and the U.S., which have started from scratch and include the cabinet-level Strategic Economic Dialogue, and the strategic dialogue. The existing dialogue and consultation mechanism has provided a vital platform for beefing up bilateral exchange and cooperation on strategic issues of vital interests to both nations.
Sino-U.S. bilateral cooperation has kept deepening in all spheres. To date, China and the United States have been turned into each other's second trade partner, and their bilateral trade has increased more than 120-fold in the past three decades. The understanding and friendship between their people have also grown day by day.
The two sides have conducted an efficient, effective coordination and cooperation on a range of global and regional issues concerning the war on terror, on nuclear nonproliferation, or in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, and on the Iranian nuclear standoff, and all this is of great significance to the promotion of regional and global peace and stability.
In face of an impact of the current financial crisis, Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the G20 Summit on Financial markets and the World Economy in Washington D.C. in mid November 2008 and proposed a series of vital, important views at the summit, and it indicated China's readiness to fully cooperate with the U.S. and the international community to tide over the difficult time.
Thirty years have passed in a crack of fingers. China and the U.S. have shifted from their past isolation to the relations of stakeholders and constructive cooperators, and it represents a general trend and the popular will as well as the outcome of joint efforts of several generations of leaders and foresighted people of both countries. It is really not easy to achieve, and we will certainly treasure it. Over a long period of time, I personally experienced the development of Sino-U.S. relations: I witnessed the upgrading of the U.S. Liaison office in Beijing to an embassy and the relocation of the old Chinese embassy office building to the New Chinese Embassy Complex in Washington D.C. So, I delight over the level Sino-U.S. relations have reached today with all sorts of feelings welled up in my mind.
Taking history as a mirror, the growth of Sino-U.S. relations over the last three decades has left us much inspiration and rich experience. First, both China and the U.S. are big influential nations in the world, and the development of their constructive, cooperative ties is good for the people of the two nations and to the world peace, stability and prosperity. Second, the two nations, despite great differences in their social systems and cultural traditions, share broad common interests, and they are partners rather than rivals, still less enemies.
In the final analysis, Sino-U.S. relations are sure to advance forward in a sustainable way and bring happiness to the people of both nations and the people across the world at large, as long as both sides adhere firmly to the orientation toward the constructive, cooperative bilateral relations, step up their dialogue, exchange and cooperation, respect in real earnest and give due consideration to each other's core interests and major concerns, properly handle such sensitive issues as the Taiwan issue, the issue relating to Tibet and the human rights.
At present, China-U.S. relations have entered a crucial stage which serves as a link between the past and the future. Development poses an eternal theme for the Sino-U.S. relations, and it is in the common interest of the people of both nations to ensure the healthy, steady growth of Sino-U.S. ties in the next few years and even in a longer period to come. We are willing to make joint efforts with the U.S. side to persevere in examining and handling Sino-U.S. ties from the strategic height and a long-term perspective and, in line with the principles enshrined in the three Sino-U.S. joint communiqués, maintain and step up high-level ties and interaction at other levels, enhance consultations and dialogue, increase mutual trust, expand cooperation and deepen the setup where the strategic interests of the two countries merge.
Only by adhering to the spirit of “keeping pace with the times” and keeping firmly to the orientation toward the constructive and cooperative bilateral relations, we have ample reasons to believe that there would be a road of a new-type relations for the biggest developing nation and the most developed nation, in which they live in harmony and cooperate for a win-win outcome, and then Sino-U.S. relations are expected to have another three decades of new brilliance.
By People's Daily Online and contributed by Chinese Ambassador to U.S. Zhou Wenzhong
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