Former diplomat urges US action to implement San Francisco Vision

To realize the San Francisco Vision, the commitments made during the recent leaders' summit must be fully implemented, particularly on sensitive issues involving Chinese sovereignty, territorial integrity and fundamental principles, according to Cui Tiankai, a former Chinese ambassador to the United States.

Cui said any actions that try to undermine or hollow out the one-China principle, send wrong signals to Taiwan separatists, or incite "color revolutions" within China must cease. He made the remarks at the 2023 China-US Public Diplomacy Summit, which was co-hosted by Renmin University of China, the China Public Diplomacy Association and China Daily in Beijing on Tuesday.

The San Francisco Vision creates a roadmap for the sound, stable and sustainable development of China-US relations.

Economic and trade relations, as well as technological cooperation, are fundamentally mutually beneficial, and the resilience and stability of supply chains are needed by both sides, said Cui. "It is necessary to eliminate unreasonable restrictions and barriers, reject the use of ideological biases to poison the atmosphere and mislead the public."

The former ambassador's call for cooperation was echoed by many of his fellow participants, including John Thornton, co-chair of the Board of Trustees at the Asia Society, and chair emeritus at the Brookings Institution.

"Every major global issue: climate change, the impact of pandemics, the consequences of economic poverty... all of these become worse and more dangerous in the world. While 100 percent of the world's global problems will be solved faster or managed better if the world's two leading countries, the US and China, work together," Thornton said.

In terms of the way forward for the two nations, Thornton advised that both sides must approach one another with humility, curiosity, understanding and respect if not empathy. "Only through much greater frequency, intensity and depth of engagement that the senior people on both sides can know one another well enough to give them the knowledge they need to minimize the chances they make mistakes and maximize the chances they make informed, nuanced judgments," he said.

Laurence Brahm, a documentary filmmaker from the US, emphasized how essential cultural outreach is, and engaging in communication and dialogue in a way that people can understand each other. He said although China and the US may seem vastly different, they are also capable of finding the middle ground.

As well as those from China and the US, some 40 experts from academia and the media from countries such as Egypt and Brazil also attended the forum. They discussed how to strengthen China-US ties and implement the San Francisco Vision after the two heads of state met in San Francisco on Nov 15.

liujianna@chinadaily.com.cn