After the consensus of San Francisco reached in November last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's three-day visit to China has accomplished the primary goal of maintaining communications, noted David Blair, vice president and senior economist at the Center for China and Globalization, in an exclusive interview with GDToday.
To Jaw-Jaw is better than to War-War
David Blair said that the five-point consensus reached by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his counterpart Antony Blinken on Friday has indicated that both sides continue to agree to talk.
“Winston Churchill said jaw-jaw by which it means talk-talk is better than war-war. It's a good sign to work together. The more meetings, the better,” said Blair.
A delegation of high school students from the U.S. state of Washington completed their first tour of China in March this year. The 11-day tour is part of a program initiated by China and dedicated to promoting youth communication and exchanges between the two countries.
They traveled to the cities of Beijing, Shiyan in central China’s Hubei Province, as well as Guangzhou and Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong Province, where they visited historical landmarks, had exchanges with their Chinese counterparts, and experienced Chinese culture.
“President Xi’s initiative to bring over 50,000 American students is a very good sign,” added Blair, suggesting they travel out of Shanghai and Beijing. “Go out to the countryside, and see the way average people live.”
He also heeds discussions about the Fentanyl in the United States. China can do whatever it takes, and be very proactive at helping the United States to prevent this danger to Americans, suggests Blair. The move would be very beneficial in changing public opinion in the United States about China.
Both sides can cooperate on military talks and trade negotiations
As for possible bilateral cooperation, Blair proposed two domains for China and the U.S. despite the geopolitical tensions between the two sides currently.
For one thing, there can be more confidence-building measures (CBMs) between the two sides and military talks.
“During the cold war, the U.S. and the Soviet Union established a hotline between the Kremlin and the White House,” he said. “China and the U.S. need close cooperation to prevent the misjudgments.”
For another, more trade negotiations will be launched between China and the U.S. according to Blair.
He said, “It's much easier to have just quantity-based trade agreements, like we saw in the phase one trade agreement back in 2018. We’ll see more agreements like that going forward.”
Reporter丨Clonde
Editor丨Steven
