29 July 2009
U.S. and Chinese Officials Describe Dialogue as “Unprecedented”
Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the two-day U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue was “unprecedented” due to the candid exchanges between U.S. and Chinese officials on a broad scope of topics, from cooperation on economic recovery to climate change and human rights.
Speaking in Washington July 28, Clinton said the talks have further convinced her that the more open the relationship between the United States and China, the world’s two most powerful economies, the better for the interests of both countries and the world at large.
“The level of sharing at a candid and deep level that we experienced over the last two days was unprecedented,” she said.
The United States and China have different histories, experiences, perspectives and challenges. But Clinton said that fundamentally “we are pragmatic people” who set goals and work to achieve them.
“I really am heartened by the positive tone of our meetings. And I think that laying this groundwork may not deliver a lot of concrete achievements immediately, but every step on this path to create confidence and understanding is a very good investment,” she said, adding that the bilateral dialogue “holds great promise.”
PRIVATE SAVINGS, DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the two countries agreed on a broad framework for economic policies and reform. The United States will advocate for increases in private savings as part of an effort to lower its fiscal deficit and “put in place a more stable, more resilient financial system.” At the same time, China and other countries whose economies have largely been based on exports and overseas demand will need to “shift the source of growth more to domestic demand.”
“Those are necessary complements; they have to work together. And I think that’s the most important strategic achievement here, and it’s critically important to the rest of the world. It’s not something that China and the U.S. can do on their own, but unless we do it, it won’t be possible for the rest of the world as well,” Geithner said.
With this framework, both countries hope to build the foundation for “a more sustainable, more balanced global recovery,” he said. “We want to be very careful, as we work together to help move the … global economy back from crisis to growth, that we don’t lay the seeds of future crises.”
The Treasury secretary said China is becoming more integrated into the world economy, and during the talks in Washington Chinese officials laid out “a very ambitious set of reforms to shift the sources of future growth away from the kind of heavy investment-intensive, also carbon-intensive, export-intensive sources of growth, towards an economy more reliant on services [and] more consumption.”
Looking at China’s achievements over the past 30 years, Geithner said the country has a “remarkable record of … laying out a path for ambitious reform and actually delivering on those commitments.”
In closing remarks with Geithner, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo July 28, Secretary Clinton said the United States and China have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance bilateral cooperation on climate change, energy and the environment.
The MOU, between the world’s two largest energy producers and consumers, “affirmed our commitment to reaching a successful international agreement on climate change and will expand our cooperation to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy,” she said.
She also said the two countries discussed human rights, describing the talks as “candid and respectful exchanges.”
Overall, the Strategic and Economic Dialogue established both a new pattern for the two countries to cooperate, as well as a new forum for discussion, Clinton said. “It’s begun to develop a structure for moving forward on this range of issues,” and despite the time, effort and patience needed, “we are willing and eager to continue.”
State Councilor Dai said the dialogue is not only a continuation of previous exchanges between U.S. and Chinese leaders. “It is also a creation,” he said.
“We talked about so many topics and such a huge number of government departments and ministries were involved and the dialogues were so in-depth, and all these were unprecedented in the past three decades since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries,” Dai said.
The state councilor also praised Presidents Obama and Hu Jintao for their decision to establish the dialogue.
“What has happened proves, and history will continue to prove in the future, that the decision made by our two presidents to conduct such dialogues is absolutely right and important. Many years from now when we look back, we will understand better its importance,” he said.
A transcript of the officials’ closing remarks at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue is available on America.gov.
