"Despite differences between our two countries [...], there exist conditions, common will, the necessity and broad basis for enhancing China-U.S. dialogue and cooperation on these areas.” Dai Bingguo on CRI
“I have no illusions that the United States and China will agree on every issue, nor choose to see the world in the same way. But that only makes dialogue more important.” President Barack Obama, The New York Times
This week saw the first session of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Washington, DC. Media reports, most of which described the event as largely uneventful, highlighted a pledge by both sides to seek more balanced economic growth as its most significant outcome.
The meeting between the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases also yielded a memorandum of understanding which promises more cooperation on climate change, energy and the environment, according to several media sources. However, in the end everything seems to still rest on the good will of the two governments, as no firm goals were set, Reuters India points out.
The meeting was hailed in various media as "unprecedented" in the history of China-US relations, which have always followed a pattern of alternating highs and lows. The talks allowed for honest and candid exchanges on a wide range of issues, even if the two sides didn't always see eye to eye, President Obamasaid, according to the New York Times. And issues of contention do remain, including emission caps, which both refuse to accept before the other, AP, among others, writes.
On the economic front, the two global powers pledged to fight protectionism and seek stable growth once the financial crisis eases. Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishanpromised China would work to fuel growth through domestic demand instead of relying on exports that drive up the US trade deficit, China Daily says. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in turn assured that the US would rein in its ballooning budget deficit, Bloomberg writes.
Other issues addressed in the talks included international challenges such as North Korea and Iran, as well as counterterrorism, Xinhua writes.
If these talks, which could greatly impact the future of the planet, had any global significance remains to be seen - in December in Copenhagen at the latest.
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