Collaborative efforts needed for better China-U.S. relations

NCUSCR President Stephen A. Orlins (at the podium and on the screens) delivers the opening remarks at the annual Gala Dinner of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR) in New York, the United States, on Oct. 24, 2023. (Photo by Winston Zhou/Xinhua)

U.S.-China cooperation "will strengthen both countries and benefit the world," said Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs. Meanwhile, some other experts shared a similar view.

BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- In a congratulatory message to the annual Gala Dinner of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and a meeting with Gavin Newsom, governor of the U.S. state of California, on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the three principles upheld by China in handling its relations with the United States.

Both Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden sent congratulatory messages to the annual Gala Dinner, which is "encouraging," said Lyazid Benhami, vice president of the Paris Association of French-Chinese Friendship.

It is important to "promote an exceptional relationship between China and the United States, a relationship founded on renewed trust and the desire to overcome differences and cyclical obstacles," Benhami stressed.

Tom Watkins, a former advisor to the Michigan-China Innovation Center, said that "history has demonstrated that building bridges is a much better strategy than building walls or digging moats" between the United States and China.

In a world fraught with tension and uncertainty, a concerted effort to address the problems and existential threats facing both nations and all of humanity is needed, Watkins added.

"It is imperative we find ways to develop a shared vision and common agenda in areas that are in our collective national interests while we have open dialogue on topics where we disagree," Watkins said.

Jeffrey Sachs, economics professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, told Xinhua via email that he agrees with Xi's message that U.S.-China cooperation "will strengthen both countries and benefit the world."

"It is correct and indeed possible," Sachs said.

Peace, the end of poverty worldwide and environmental sustainability will benefit enormously from U.S.-China cooperation, Sachs added.

Heba Gamal, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, echoed the sentiment. Gamal said that promoting cooperation between the powers and easing tensions would help reach a breakthrough in several current world crises.

Greg Cusack, a former member of the U.S. State of Iowa House of Representatives, said: "What has begun as small actually can lead to greater cooperative efforts as, very gradually sometimes, trust is slowly built. Unless China and the United States find a way to truly work together on such imminent threats as global warming, energy and food insufficiencies, the future for all of us does not look very bright at all."

He expressed the hope that both countries could prioritize cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

"It appears that the Chinese are continuing to be a stable partner in sharing their achievements with Newsom in hopes that the world's two top economies can together set a standard for global cooperation in our climate emergency," said Kevin Clark, director of Center for Organic Philosophy, a Washington State-based non-profit organization focusing on green growth.

Newsom's tour in China discloses to the world "the immense progress" China had made in both developing and implementing practical, locally focused climate change strategies both for municipal and regional development, Clark added.