IRRITATION AT PACE OF US-CHINA MEETINGS By Krishna Guha in Washington
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The US is growing impatient at the pace of progress in economic talks with China, Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, warned on Tuesday as a second round of high-level bilateral meetings began in Washington.
His Chinese counterpart, Vice-Premier Wu Yi, responded that any US attempt to put pressure on China “can only make the situation more complex”.
The exchanges were friendly in tone, with both sides expressing their commitment to the strategic economic dialogue which began last year in an attempt to manage the tensions caused by China's rapid emergence as a global economic powerhouse.
But the discussion underscored the difficulty Mr Paulson faces as he tries to generate enough tangible results to persuade sceptics that the intensive engagement with Beijing that he champions is serving US interests.
“Americans have many vir- tues – we are a hard-working, innovative people – but we are also impatient,” Mr Paulson said. “It is up to us, over these two days and in the work that follows, to show that words are precursors to action.”
Mr Paulson said the talks – while focused on long term strategic issues – also had to address the “immediate concerns that are impacting our industries and our citizens.”
He said “there is a growing scepticism in each country about the others' intentions,” adding that in the US “this is manifesting itself as anti-China sentiment as China becomes a symbol of the real and imagined downside of global competition.”
Mr Paulson said “our task is not an easy one” – a phrase Ms Wu echoed, saying “it is not easy to be where we are” in terms of the US-China relationship.
Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, reminded the two delegations of the “historic challenge” facing both sides.
“In the past, when a nation grew with the speed, determination and scale of China it would evoke almost inevitable competition and even conflict between itself and the traditional countries,” he said.
Ms Wu stressed China's commitment to tackling bilateral issues on the basis of “equal consultation, co-operation and win-win” – while making it clear that China will not let the US dictate the agenda for the talks.
