Trade, trust key for ties, Branstad says

Terry Branstad, the United States' ambassador to China during one of the most tumultuous periods in the bilateral relationship, said on Tuesday that he hoped the two countries can expand trade and build trust despite their differences.

"It's important to recognize there're a lot of ups and downs in the relationship over the years, and it's a challenging time right now," Branstad said in a conversation hosted online by the US-China Policy Foundation in Washington.

"My hope is that we will recognize that we're the two biggest economies in the world. We're interdependent," said the former Iowa governor who served as the US' top envoy in China between 2017 and 2020 during the administration of Donald Trump, when bilateral relations plummeted to their lowest point in decades.

His tenure was marked during which the two countries signed the phase one trade deal, which Branstad said was a "significant breakthrough". There was also enhanced cooperation in helping address the fentanyl problem in the US, while experiencing the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of a consulate in each other's country.

There were also some light and fun parts during his tenure, including the Branstad family's ski trip in Northeast China and a train journey to the Tibet autonomous region, where he experienced firsthand Tibetan culture in Southwest China, Branstad said during the virtual talk.

"Unfortunately, I think this administration has gotten off to a slow start when it comes to trade," he said of current US trade policy.

The first face-to-face meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov 14 was a "good start" to be followed by discussions that he said will hopefully lead to improvements in the trade area.

"One of the things that could happen would be a reciprocal reduction in tariffs," he said.

The growing middle class in China has an appreciation for the safety and quality of food in the US, just as people in the US appreciate the quality and affordability of Chinese products in the US, noted the former ambassador.

An old friend

"So I hope that we can work things out in such a way that we can hopefully continue and even expand trade in a way that even though we have differences ... we still need to recognize that if we can work things out, especially in trade, that can not only benefit our two countries, but the entire world," he said.

Branstad was governor of Iowa when Xi first visited in 1985, when he was secretary of the Communist Party of China Zhengding County Committee in Hebei province. In February 2012, Branstad met Xi when he visited the Midwestern US state as China's vice-president.

In his first year as governor in 1983, Branstad signed a sister-state agreement with Hebei. And in 1984, he brought a delegation of 50 people to Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei.

Then in the spring of 1985, a delegation of five young men from Hebei led by Xi, went to Iowa, a trip that Branstad said "we went all out "to reciprocate the way Branstad's delegation was welcomed in Hebei.

"The result of that is, he has very fond memories of his first trip to America, and he has very fond memories of the people that he met in Iowa in '85, and he calls us all old friends," Branstad said.

The former diplomat said much of the progress in the relationship goes back to the sister states that have been developed between US states and Chinese provinces, and the sister city relationships as well.

"Those build friendships, and friendships can build trust, and that has led to significant trade and other cultural exchanges," he said.

There are 50 pairs of sister provinces and states, and 234 pairs of sister cities between the two countries, according to the Chinese embassy in the US.

In a video dialogue between the sister cities of China and the US on April 27, Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang said the exchanges between the people will empower bilateral relations to move forward.

"The resilience of our sister cities is the resilience of China-US relations, and the closeness of our sister-city relations stands for the closeness of China-US relations," Qin said.

Branstad said it is "critically important" to recognize that the Chinese take the long view of things, and the US needs to always look at ways in which it can try to work out differences with China and realize that the Chinese people are wonderful people.

"They have a great work ethic; they're very committed to education, their children, and they're very family oriented," he said. "We need to get to know the Chinese people; we need them to get to know us, and that can build friendships and hopefully trust and a better relationship down the road."