US-China economic cooperation calls for political vision

One way to see this is that it takes time for both sides to learn how to handle the more complex relations between them: The US needs time to get used to China's status of a new superpower in global economy, while China itself is learning to get used to its role as a regional power and growing economic responsibilities to the world. But what's clear to both nations is that they must move forward despite old and new challenges, and replace confrontation with more cooperation over a wide range of political and economic issues.

The good news is that both countries want to avoid confrontation and seek to rely on cooperation to change the status quo. By many measures, it is a fool's game if anyone chooses to ignore China's growing status as a regional political power and soon-to-be the largest economy in the world. In fact, the US and Chinese economies are so intertwined that either could not go well without the other. The trade between the two countries reaches more than $600 billion. China has become the largest foreign holder of US debt, which owns more than $1.2 trillion in bills, notes and bonds, according to the US Treasury. China has also been a major agricultural importer of US food and grain. In addition, US schools have attracted more than 274,000 Chinese students, while 25,000 American students study in China.

An economic prosperous China will not only contribute to the stability of Asia, but to the peace and stability of the whole world, including the United States. The United States has the duties to engage China and create an environment encouraging the new economic power to take responsibility commensurate with its wealth and power. China also deserves a seat at the international table, whose cooperation is essential in solving almost all global economic problems.

It is noted that the benefits of such a cooperation may be clouded as the US presidential campaign kicks off this years, which frequently drives US political agenda out of its track. American foreign policy, which is often dominated by a bipartisan consensus, has a strong impact on its economic policy. For example, China's appreciation of its currency should be taken as a welcome step as it will allow market forces to have a greater role in setting the exchange rate. But when the appreciation was so sharp that US politicians and investors view it as a clear signal of a faltering economy.

As President Xi Jinping boards his plane and kicks off his state visit to the United States, some new ground should be broken in terms of US-China economic cooperation. With global economic stability at stake, both countries share a strong interest in strengthening economic cooperation, which also shows to the world that the two largest economics can join their hands together and work through their differences in both political and economic issues. It is highly predictable that the US-China economic cooperation will be more political than economic in the US presidential campaign year. At the moment, a political vision is urgently needed from both sides to bring their cooperation to the next stage. President Xi's state visit to the US represents such a vision and effort.