Xi-Obama summit opens up possibilities for new advances in China-U.S. ties: former ambassador

WASHINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The first summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in California last week opened up possibilities for making new progress in advancing bilateral relations, former U.S. Ambassador to China Stapleton Roy said recently.

"It's very significant that both top leaders have concluded that the trend toward growing strategic rivalry was damaging to the interests of their countries," Roy said during a conference call hosted by the National Committee on the U.S.-China relations on Thursday.

Roy said the relationship "has turned a corner" after being somewhat strained in recent years by events including the Diaoyu Islands disputes, which at the time caused many in China to view the United States as aligning with those on the other side of the dispute, he said.

Fortunately, Xi and Obama reached consensus that they must reverse recent trends by creating a new type of relationship between major countries in the summit, which included informal one-on-one talks, Roy said.

"In that respect, the summit was very successful," he said. "It reinforced the engagement we are already engaging in and opened up possibilities for moving in new areas."

It is also significant that China is now talking about creating a new type of military-to-military relationship, one of the least developed areas of cooperation between the two countries, Roy noted.

As far as the Korean Peninsula is concerned, the tension originated during 2010-2011 has been replaced by a reaffirmation that both countries believe denuclearization of the peninsula is a common strategic interest, he said.

"(Each side) struck positive notes about where we want to go," Roy said.

"This is important because we need from the two presidents a sense of strategic direction of where we want the relationship to go. And I think that has been provided more clearly now than ever before," he said.

"Both sides want to move the relationship in a positive direction," he said.

The upcoming China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue will provide some feedback as to whether the discussions between Xi and Obama are being reflected at the senior official levels, Roy added.

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