The China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) has provided an important platform since 2009 for holding constructive discussions, building mutual trust and promoting ties between the world's two largest economies.

High-level dialogue

The fifth round of China-US S&ED, to take place in Washington D.C. this week, will be co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechias well as US Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.

The high-level officials will act respectively as special representatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama.

The S&ED, initiated in 2009, aims to advance the China-US bilateral cooperative partnership, deepen communication and coordination on macroeconomic policies and major issues in the global economy, and boost economic and trade cooperation.

The dialogue mechanism was upgraded from former Strategic Dialogue and biennial Strategic Economic Dialogue, which were initiated by the two heads of state in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

Briefing reporters last week on the fifth round of S&ED in Beijing, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said that the June summit between Xi and Obama in California drew a blueprint for China-US relations, and both sides will further exchange views on building a new type of relationship between major powers and topics including climate change and United Nations peacekeeping in the forthcoming high-level dialogue.

In the strategic track of 2012 S&ED held in Beijing, the two sides agreed to promote high-level exchanges, enhance dialogue and consultation, jointly address regional and global challenges, step up bilateral collaboration and expand cooperation in the fields of climate change, energy, environment, science and technology.

In the outcomes of the strategic track of the third round of S &ED held in Washington D.C., the two nations acknowledged that the two sides have a wide range of common interests with a shared goal of maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, and decided to establish a US-China consultation on the Asia-Pacific.

The two nations also decided to enhance communication and coordination on regional and global issues including the Korean Peninsula to jointly address common challenges and safeguard peace and stability.



SSD to deepen mutual trust

China-US Strategic Security Dialogue (SSD) was launched in 2011. It was first held in Washington D.C. under the framework of the third round of S&ED, and co-chaired by then Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun and US Deputy State Secretary James Steinberg.

Leading officials from diplomatic and military departments of both sides also attended the dialogue.

The SSD was aimed at enhancing mutual understanding, building mutual trust, exploring cooperation and narrowing differences, Zhang told reporters after the talks on May 10, 2011.

"There is a need for both sides to have such kind of platform to discuss and exchange views on major strategic issues of mutual interest, to avoid misinterpretation and miscalculation on the strategic intention of the other side and to explore possible communication, consultation and mutually beneficial cooperation in some areas," said Zhang.

Co-chaired by Zhang and then US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, the second SSD was held in Beijing in May, 2012. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on issues of strategic and comprehensive security and deepening mutual understanding. Both sides agreed to continue to develop the SSD mechanism and let it play a greater role in enhancing bilateral strategic mutual trust.

High ranking officials participated in the dialogue included Ma Xiaotian, then deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, then Chinese Ambassador to the United States Zhang Yesui, US Under Secretary of Defense James Miller and US Pacific Command Commander Samuel Locklear.

The third SSD is scheduled to take place in Washington D.C. this week, and a new cyber working group will have its first meeting under the SSD framework, as cyber issues have emerged as a center of contention between the two sides.

Strengthened economic ties

Previous rounds of S&ED have yielded tangible economic fruits and witnessed strengthened ties between China and the United States on a large array of economic and trade sectors.

China's trade with the United States rose 8.5 percent from a year ago to 484.7 billion US dollars in 2012, a significant increase from 80.5 billion dollars in 2001, according to Chinese customs statistics.

In a joint economic track fact sheet of the fourth round of S &ED last year, the two countries reaffirmed the importance of fostering open, fair and transparent investment environments to their domestic economies and to the global economy, pledging to schedule further negotiating rounds on the bilateral investment treaty.

During the third round of S&ED in 2011, China and the United States signed a framework of comprehensive economic cooperation to promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth, as well as beef up macroeconomic-policy communication and coordination.

Both countries aimed at taking measures to promote more balanced bilateral trade, resolving trade and investment disputes in a constructive and cooperative manner, exploring new cooperation opportunities in the process of transforming and restructuring their economies, and deepening cooperation in the financial sector.

In the upcoming S&ED, both sides will hold talks on expanding bilateral trade and investment cooperation. China also hopes the United States will take substantial actions to lift the ban on the exports of high-tech products to China as well as recognize China's market economy status as soon as possible, Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told reporters last week.

It provides the two nations with an opportunity to discuss major issues and to build upon the understanding Xi and Obama established at their meeting last month.

The full slate of issues up for discussion will have multilateral impact and the entire global community is vested in their outcome, said Kenneth Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.