Cooperation between U.S., China essential: US experts
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The cooperation between Washington and Beijing on critical global issues is essential although it will involve necessary sacrifices, U.S. experts on China told Xinhua recently.
Domestic political concerns drive leaders in both countries, and neither side wants to be perceived by their fellow citizens as not standing up for core interests of their own countries, said Clayton Dube, associate director of China Institute at the University of Southern California.
But it is vital for both leaders to convince their citizens that cooperation on critical global issues is essential, Dube said.
Acknowledging that cooperation will involve sacrifices at home, Dube described those sacrifices as rewarding.
"Strong leaders know that they must sometimes yield on important measures in order to attain even more crucial aims. That must happen now and it must happen on both sides," he said.
"Leaders must always be sensitive to domestic pressures, but they also have a responsibility to look forward and to take action that will yield a better tomorrow, even if there are political costs today," he added.
Stanley Rosen, director of the East Asian Studies Center at the University of Southern California, pointed out different political background between the United States and China, saying that it is easy for the two countries to misunderstand each other.
However, both sides do not want the situation to get out of control, Rosen said.
"It is a two-level game," he said, saying that both countries will by turns seek negotiations with the other side.
The Barack Obama Administration will have to worry about the Congress and public opinion after his leadership was weakened by the health care debate ahead of a mid-term election in November, according to Rosen.
"There is much pressure on him to be tough on China," he said.
Obama is trying to be flexible in foreign affairs, but the flexibility has been perceived as weak toward China, he said.
"His flexibility is not awarded, so he has to show his toughness toward China. The American and Chinese perceptions are different," said Rosen.
For example, he said, Washington is tough on the currency issue and has put pressure on the Chinese side for reevaluation.
However, even in America there is a debate on whether the evaluation of China's currency will help U.S. exports or to which degree the change of value will help increase domestic jobs, he said.
Rosen said that before the November election, the United States was not likely to make concessions on issues on currency and others, because Washington tended to be governed by elections.
Stressing that what Washington can do is "very limited" right now, Rosen said he does not expect further deterioration in the U.S.-China relations.
Ben Tang, director of Asian Studies at the Claremont Institute, told Xinhua that the tough voice from the U.S. side on China "won't last long" and might "gradually die down after the election."
He emphasized that the importance of cooperation should be carefully considered before making big decisions.
