Trust and working together are key issues for China and US, says Yale chief

The most important issue between China and the United States is to further improve trust and the ability to work together to solve problems, said Peter Salovey, president of Yale University.

Salovey made the remarks on Sunday during a group interview on the sidelines of the China Development Forum in Beijing.

“We do not want to undermine the great work that our countries have done together on different dimensions in the last two decades,” he said.

This is Salovey’s third time attending the CDF in Beijing, which lasted from Saturday to Monday.

“There was a very stimulating discussion among business leaders, government officials across the world,” he said about the forum. “I think this year the topic among everyone’s mind could be summarized into the phrase ‘inclusive growth’. We are seeing economies growing quite rapidly in many places in the world, and the problem is how can we make sure that we grow in a way that benefits the most number of people.”

Noting that this year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up policy, the Yale president said one thing that both China and the US can celebrate was how much the two countries have collaborated since that time, particularly among scholars and university campuses.

“Now, every major problem in the world today requires a solution involving the US and China working together. You are not going to solve problems like climate change, the HIV epidemic or to produce inclusive growth, in isolation,” he said. “The more the US and China can work together on the solutions, the more likely that these kinds of problems can be solved.’’