HONOLULU -- U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to include China as part of a three-nation Northeast Asia tour later this month underscores his personal commitment to start building a more "constructive, cooperative" relationship with Beijing.
Bush offered to institute a long-awaited Sino-U.S. strategic dialogue in December when he called Chinese President Jiang Zemin to give him advance warning of his decision to withdraw from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty. In our own discussions with Chinese officials and security analysts, we see a growing Chinese receptiveness -- indeed, even an eagerness -- to pursue such discussions.
The overall goal of any dialogue should be to promote mutual respect and greater understanding of each nation's strategic vision and objectives and how the other party fits into (or potentially disrupts) this picture. Mutual suspicions abound. Bush should address these head on when he visits Beijing, spelling out for the Chinese what a stable East Asia strategic environment looks like from his perspective and how both an emerging China and Washington's current network of bilateral security alliances fit into this vision. Likewise, Jiang could help set the stage for subsequent high-level dialogue by providing a clearer exposition of what China's long-term vision for a prosperous, secure Asia is, along with assurances that America and its East Asian alliances can coexist within this vision.