Bush's visit symbolic but still important
By Xiao Xing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-19 06:48

Anti-terrorism co-operation, nuclear stand-off on the Korean Peninsula and Iran, the Taiwan question, trade deficit, intellectual property rights protection, and bird flu.

The wide range of topics on the agenda during US President George W. Bush's visit to China shows that Washington and Beijing share more and more common interests, according to analysts.

This fact, they predict, will prompt Bush to sound a more positive note while outlining his administration's China policy in Beijing.

Bush was scheduled to fly from Busan, the Republic of Korea, to Beijing on Saturday for a three-day visit, during which he will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

"The Bush visit is largely symbolic, but it will be of real significance to developing bilateral relations," said Li Xiaogang, a researcher with the Institute of American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"It will help build the personal rapport between Bush and Hu, strengthen mutual trust at the highest level and stabilize the overall situation of Sino-US ties."

US Deputy Secretary of State Bob Zoellick made a keynote speech on China policy on September 21, stating the critical need for America to co-operate effectively with an emerging China to safeguard many common interests shared by the two powers.

Given China's growing economic and political influence around the globe, Zoellick asked China to be "a responsible stakeholder" to work with the US to sustain the international system.

"Zoellick's speech can be taken as a cornerstone for the Bush administration's China policy, which apparently takes a pragmatic and balanced approach towards China's peaceful rise," Li said.

He added that the Bush visit is tantamount to "a public show of his own endorsement of the policy of promoting constructive co-operation" with the world's biggest developing country and fastest-growing economy.

Noticeably, Bush, in a major speech on his Asia policy during his tour of Japan on Wednesday, dropped the words "strategic competitor" to describe China, a phrase he often used in the early days of his first term.

Li emphasized that such a policy shift signals Washington's recognition that it can foster co-operative relationship with China to jointly address various global challenges despite their vast differences.

(China Daily 11/19/2005 page2)