Nations must give, take, new report says

Absolute "winning" or "losing" is unlikely to occur in modern international relations, and concession is necessary during exchanges between countries, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday.

Fu Ying, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress and chief expert of the National Institute for Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was speaking in Beijing at the release of a report calling for win-win development of China-US ties.

The report, written by Chinese think tanks, says both China and the United States fully understand the danger of the so-called Thucydides trap- when an established power is threatened by a growing power-and that they need to overcome challenges to achieve a win-win outcome.

It suggests that both countries should work toward maintaining lasting stability around the world, and that they should avoid strategic misjudgments and cultivate "a habit of cooperation".

Fu, also former vice-foreign minister and former ambassador to countries including the UK and Australia, said nations shouldn't want only wins and refuse to give way during international negotiations, and that China proposes a win-win approach.

She likened such an approach to "winning 180 degrees in a circle, which has of 360 degrees, and giving the other side opportunities to win the other 180 degrees".

"Maybe the benefit won't be shared in an absolutely equal manner every time. It's OK to maintain a general balance".

The six-chapter report was conducted under a research project by the National Institute for Global Strategy and the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

At the end of November 2015, the National Institute for Global Strategy mulled over the idea of starting the project, which aims to conduct in-depth research over the status quo and examine the future of China-US ties to help when making decisions and to provide information for the public good.

The project tries to discuss how to achieve a win-win outcome when facing difficulties and differences, said Fu.

More than 40 scholars from China and the US have participated in the project. The US-side will issue in June a report it made under the project.