Susan E. Rice：Sino-U.S. relationship isn’t zero-sum game

“In the coming decades, strong and wise American leaders must, necessarily, maintain a relationship with China that promotes cooperation, while allowing for healthy competition. ”said Susan E. Rice, White House National Security Advisor in a speech in the George Washington University on September 21, ahead of Chi-nese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States.

“The United States welcomes a rising China that is peaceful, stable, prosperous, and a responsible player in global affairs.” said Rice, “It’s natural that China takes on greater leadership to match its economic develop-ment and growing capabilities. When China is invested in helping resolve regional and global problems, the United States – and the world – benefits. ”

“We reject reductive reasoning and lazy rhetoric that says conflict between the U.S. and China is inevitable, even as we’ve been tough with China where we disa-gree.” said Rice, “This isn’t a zero-sum game. Our ca-pacity to manage our differences is greater than that. ”

Since President Obama took office, the exports of the U.S. to China have nearly doubled, and China is now the third largest market for American-made goods, follow-ing Canada and Mexico.

U.S. has extended visas for travel between the two coun-tries for business people, students, and tourists, making it easier for the citizens of these two countries to study and work together. 

“We’ve increased the number of visas we issue to Chi-nese travelers—from less than half a million in 2009 to more than 1.7 million last year. And that’s important, because the average Chinese tourist contributes more than $7,000 to the U.S. economy when they visit. That adds up.” Rice added.

“As two nations that will shape the direction of this cen-tury, we want our young people to learn together and develop early connections, so we’re encouraging student exchanges and study abroad. ” said Rice.

“We’ve already exceeded President Obama’s goal of sending 100,000 Americans to study in China. ”said Rice, “We look forward to setting an ambitious new tar-get during President Xi’s visit and continuing to strengthen our people-to-people ties. ”

She admitted that the reality is we face difficult chal-lenges, and we never shy away from pressing our con-cerns. “It is determined, constant engagement that al-lowed us to reach a climate agreement, while overcom-ing long-standing trade disputes. And determined, con-stant engagement is necessary to manage our differ-ences. ”

“When China and the United States work together, the world is more secure and more prosperous. That’s the truth.” said Rice.

Rice mentioned that the relationship between the U.S. and China is too big and too important to treat with any-thing less than our full, good-faith effort. “And, you can be sure that our relationship with China—one that is sta-ble, productive, and resilient—will remain at the center of American foreign policy for years to come. ”