China, U.S. look to mend fences

The last year, officials guess handbags and analysts here acknowledge, has been exceptionally challenging for bilateral ties, with new tensions surfacing in almost every sphere of engagement.

Even in recent weeks in the lead-up to Mr. Hu’s visit, the two countries have sparred over a range of issues. On trade, the United States has hit out at China’s valuation of summer fashion trends its currency. China has responded by attacking the Federal Reserve’s $ 600 billion bond-buying move to make the dollar more competitive.

On North Korea, the two countries’ positions still remain far apart, even after months of intense negotiations. The U.S. has continued pressuring China to take a more proactive role to rein in its neighbour. China, on the other hand, has expressed displeasure with the U.S. for fanning the flames in the region by holding military drills with South Korea, and rejecting a return to talks.

But at the heart of the recent strategic mistrust is Washington’s re-engagement with East Asia, which has prompted renewed fears in Beijing of a U.S.-led strategy of “containment” against China. On this front, analysts say, it is crucial for both sides to use the upcoming visit to clear the air, even if, in the near-term, tensions are unlikely to subside, with China’s rising regional ambitions expected to continue rubbing up against Washington’s reluctance to cede strategic space.

The visit is important because the bilateral relations have been going down,” Yan Xuetong, director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University and a prominent Chinese voice on U.S. policy, told The Hindu. “The visit will stop the deterioration for a short period, but it cannot solve all strategic differences between these two countries.”
“Some in China worry that the United States is bent on containing their rise and constraining their growth – a view that is stoking a new streak of assertive Chinese nationalism,” she said.

Ms. Clinton said this “forward-deployed” diplomacy had seen the U.S. renew its alliance with its allies in the region – Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Australia and the Philippines – as well as deepen partnerships with India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand. “We are taking steps to ensure that our defence posture reflects the complex and evolving strategic environment in the region,” she said. “A more robust and coherent regional architecture in Asia benefits everyone, including China.”

Despite the differences, scholars in China have called for a much-needed stabilising of the relationship, in consideration of the two countries’ deep economic interdependence and convergence of interests on issues such as North Korea, where both
power balance are seeking to defuse tensions.