Ambassador: Now is time to cooperate, not decouple

Chinese envoy Cui Tiankai says links between China and US are inseparable

As the China-US relationship sits at a crossroads, the world's two largest economies should come together by expanding cooperation rather than "decoupling" from each other, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said on Tuesday.

"We have learned from the past four decades that cooperation is the only right option for us," Cui said in his keynote address at a Vision China event in New York. "It is something we should always uphold."

The forum, "China-US Relations: 40 Years& Beyond", hosted by China Daily and Bank of China, featured commentary by experts deeply involved in Sino-US relations.

"Decoupling our two countries in trade and industrial development goes against globalization and the tide of history," Cui said. "And considering China's advantages in cost, market and supply chain and its growing edge in innovation, to decouple from China is to decouple from opportunities."

His remarks came amid trade differences between the two countries that date to early last year. Another round of talks between the countries' top trade negotiators is scheduled for early next month.

"The trade war the US launched and repeatedly escalated was based on a wrong rationale in the very beginning, and its negative impact has now hit both countries and spilled over to the whole world," Cui said.

Scientific, technological and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries also are hard to decouple, he added.

China and the US differ on some issues, he said, but instead of justifying confrontation or conflict, the disagreements should be seen as opportunities for complementarity and cooperation.

"It is extremely dangerous and irresponsible to base America's policy on alarmism and label China as a strategic rival and even adversary," Cui said.

He refuted rhetoric that a rising China would "displace the US to be the world's new hegemon", and said China aspired to pursue happiness for its people, rejuvenation for the nation and harmony for the world.

Despite the economic advancement achieved by China in past decades, the country still faced tough challenges, including eliminating poverty, preventing and resolving systemic risks, and preventing and controlling pollution, Cui said.

"China develops itself to deliver a better life to its people, not to scramble for global dominance," he said.

Cui said China's development has served other countries, including the US, with which it has inseparable links.

In the past three years, China has remained the US' top trading partner. Daily trade between the countries is worth more than $1.5 billion, according to the Chinese embassy in Washington.

More than 14,000 people fly between the countries every day for work, study and leisure. There are now more than 270 pairs of sister-states and sister-cities, and more than 360,000 Chinese students in the US, according to the embassy.

The relationship has a major bearing on world stability and prosperity, Cui said, and the nations could cooperate to deal with global issues such as nuclear proliferation, terrorism, climate change, and natural disasters and challenges.

While the US will remain "the world's strongest country for a long time to come", whether it can take an open and confident approach to China's development "will affect its future, and will determine the direction of China-US relations and very probably the future of the world", he said.

nancykong@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily Global 09/19/2019 page8)