At the Beijing Xiangshan Forum video workshops, which kicked off on December 1, Ezra F. Vogel, Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus of Harvard University, said that the US President-Elect Biden has brought a new opportunity for China-US relations, and the two sides should promote their ties on three levels – high-level meetings, exchanges between professionals, and the working level, a view that was echoed by Chinese and Russian experts present at the seminar. Vogel also added that the US should admit China’s contributions to the world and treat it fairly.
美国哈佛大学荣休教授傅高义1日晚间在北京香山论坛视频研讨会表示，美国当选总统拜登给中美关系带来新的机会，中美之间应该从高层会晤、专业人士以及工作层三个层次进行推进。与会的中俄专家也持同样观点。傅高义还表示，美国应该承认中国对世界的贡献，公平地对待中国。
Ezra Vogel is a famous American expert on China issues. This was the first time he attended the Xiangshan Forum. The current China-US relation is at the lowest point in history, which is detrimental to both countries, he said, adding that although some American politicians are firmly against China and critical of what’s going on in China’s Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong areas, Biden as the President-Elect has brought a new chance for bilateral relations.
“I think we need to make efforts on three levels. High-level meetings between the two countries should be facilitated and made happen as soon as possible, professionals should work on specific issues and sectors, and the working level should communicate about details,”he said.
傅高义是美国知名中国问题专家，这是他首次参加香山论坛。傅高义表示，目前中美关系处于历史的低谷，这对两个国家都是不利的。他认为，美国的一些政治家非常反华，他们对新疆、西藏和香港问题进行批评，但拜登为中美关系带来了一个机会。“我认为我们需要在高层、专业人士以及工作层三个层次做出努力，尽快推动美中两国高层会晤、专业人士进行专业应对，工作层则在细节方面进行沟通。”
He also stressed that the US should not disparage the constructive efforts made by China worldwide, such as its contribution to energy conservation and emission reduction, to infrastructure construction in African countries, and to the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the US should admit China’s contributions to the world and treat it fairly.
傅高义也表示，美国不应该诋毁中国在世界范围内所做的建设性努力，比如中国在节能减排、在非洲国家基础设施建设、抗击疫情方面等做出的贡献，美国应该承认中国对世界的贡献，公平地对待中国。
Yao Yunzhu, a senior advisor to the China Association of Military Science, echoed Prof. Ezra Vogel’s view when interviewed. “As a scholar who has been committed to China-US exchanges for many years, Prof. Ezra Vogel is worried about the current situation of bilateral ties. He hopes that under the new administration, the two countries can soon resume communication between top leaders, professional government teams, and on the daily working level so that once the leaders reach a consensus on major issues, the working level can carry out sustained communication and negotiations to reach the goal.”
中国军事科学学会高级顾问姚云竹在接受采访时对傅高义的观点表示赞同，“作为一位多年致力于中美交流的学者，傅高义对中美现状是有些着急的。傅高义希望在新一届政府时期，能够迅速恢复两国领导人、政府专业团队和日常工作层面的交流。在领导层就重要问题达成共识后，工作层面可以展开持续的沟通和谈判以达成目标。”
Alexander Lukin, Head of the Department of International Relations at National Research University Higher School of Economics and Director of the Centre for East Asian and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies at MGIMO University in Moscow, Russia, has participated in the Beijing Xiangshan Forum many times. He said although other countries also play an important role, China and the US remain the main driving forces of the changing security situation in Asia-Pacific.
俄罗斯莫斯科国立国际关系学院东亚和上海合作组织研究中心主任亚历山大•卢金已经多次参加香山论坛，他在发言中表示，尽管其他国家也发挥重要作用，但中、美是推动亚太安全不断变化的主要驱动力。
When speaking about how the new US administration will change its Asia Pacific policy, Lukin said, “given the views of some in Biden’s campaign team, the new administration will likely continue the policy during the terms of Biden’s predecessors Clinton and Obama. The biggest change we are going to see is that Biden will work closely with American allies, which are not very satisfied with America’s policy right now. It will also adopt a softer China policy, which makes China’s policy more important as many issues depend to a large extent on China’s policies and practices.”
在谈到新一届美国政府将会如何改变美国亚太政策时，卢金表示，“当前从拜登竞选团队一些人观点来看，拜登政府的政策将是美国前任总统克林顿和奥巴马时期路线的延续，我们所能看到最大变化是拜登会与美国盟友更加合作，现在美国盟友对美国政策不太满意。拜登对华政策会更为宽松，这将使得中国的政策更为重要，因为很多事情很大程度取决于中国的政策和做法。”
Zhu Feng, Executive Director of the Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, was one of the guests that delivered a speech. He agreed that Biden’s election indeed presents a new opportunity for China-US relations because Biden, a moderate Democrat, will maintain the strategic competition between the two countries, but he also needs strategic stability. In other words, conflicts and competition will be unavoidable between China and the US, but the competition will be managed to keep the overall bilateral relationship stable.
南京大学中国南海研究协同创新中心执行主任朱锋是发言嘉宾之一，他也认同拜登当选对中美关系而言的确是一个新机会，他认为，拜登是民主党内的温和派，他既会保持中美之间战略竞争，也需要战略稳定，也就是说中美之间既有难以避免的冲突和竞争，同时会对竞争关系进行管控得以保持稳定。
(This article is originally published on the Wechat official account of the Academy of Military Sciences of the Chinese PLA. It is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online.)
