There are two possible approaches for the discussions between Vice President Xi and his American interlocutors. If they begin the dialogue from a macro and comprehensive viewpoint, the two sides will achieve a tremendous amount for this crucial bilateral relationship. But if the dialogue begins with challenges, such as the perennial challenges of the so-called human rights and arms sales to Taiwan, the two sides will talk about domestic developments in the election year, as well as the most urgent international challenges, global governance and other major topics.

As this author believes that the two sides will spend more time on identifying and resolving problems, let us examine the challenges the two nations face in more detail.

Economic growth and job creation is high on both agendas, thus the conflicts on economic issues will be more prominent during the upcoming election year. On the one hand, the Chinese want the Americans to be more responsible in their monetary and financial policies, open its markets for Chinese investments, and relax excessive controls on technological transfers. The Chinese are also dissatisfied with the discrepancy between the words and deeds of the American government. On the other hand, the Americans attribute their economic difficulties to the exchange rates, intellectual property rights, over-protection of Chinese state-owned enterprises and discriminatory Chinese procurements. They also want more local implementation of the Chinese central government’s relevant policies. When you consider that the global and US economy is set for low growth this year, combined with the uncertainty of the Euro-zone crisis and even a possible double-dip recession, the United States will inevitably exert more pressure on China.

Strategic trust is a rare commodity in Sino-US relations, and it will be even further exacerbated in the election year. Both China and the U.S. will share their concerns in terms of the other side’s political intentions and strategic deployments.Their differences over the Asia-Pacific issues are the most salient and noteworthy. Politically and diplomatically, China and the United States differ on regionalism, intra-regional relations and political-social systems. The two countries also have large gaps in their concept and practice of military and security, and are suspicious about the other’s strategic intentions and military deployments. Economically, the United States is trying to regain its leadership by expanding its economic presence and advocating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other economic mechanisms to gain more leverage over China.

As Sino-US relations have already moved from bilateral issues to regional and global issues, global governance is also an important challenge. During the last US election we witnessed the opportunity for Sino-US cooperation on G-20. This time the two countries seem to have lost their steam in cooperating on the reform of the international system. The two sides have had great difficulty in narrowing down their differences on outer-space, cyber security and maritime rights, even as the world calls for greater and more transnational coordination and cooperation.

Despite the challenges of deliberation and readjustment, this visit will have a well-structured focus and a well-prioritized agenda. Therefore, I have the following recommendations to make.

Firstly, the two sides should communicate frankly on their respective strategic vision and phased objectives. The election year presents a good opportunity for contemplating and re-examining both past and existing strategic thinking and policies in both countries. The US and China should work together in the spirit of the “Three Mutual” objectives. On important global issues, the two countries should be mutually supportive. On Asia-Pacific regional affairs, the two countries should be mutually inclusive. On bilateral relations, the two countries should hew to mutual respect and equality.

The second recommendation is for the two countries to effectively deal with the most urgent and immediate issues. Political leaders of both countries are under mounting pressure to achieve deliverables and concrete benefits for their domestic constituencies. Therefore, the two sides should strive to provide each other with markets for commercial and service goods, investments, tourism and educational industries. The two sides should also work together to deal with global economic challenges through closer consultations and coordinated policies.

Last but not least, China and the United States should make their discussions more solution-oriented. There are about seventy mechanisms for discussion between the two countries, but they need to be improved. In terms of depth, the two sides should be more solution-oriented. The talks should be more transparent and reported to the public from the preparation stage through the evaluation of their achievements. In term of scope, these communications should continue to include other parties and issues concerned. Both sides should keep the other informed about their strategic and policy plans on the major concerns, such as the Iranian nuclear issue and the stability of the Korean Peninsula.

Vice President Xi’s visit coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Shanghai Communiqué. Looking back at the past 40 years, four generations of Chinese leaders and eight US presidents all left their positive marks. Therefore, we are confident that the future of the Sino-US relations will be promising and will overcome its difficulties.

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