New China-U.S. grand strategy proposal [-Nice dream, but nothing more, only a dream]

November 22, 2010
John Milligan-Whyte and Dai Min
People's Daily Online

Here is the package of arrangements in a new China-U.S. grand strategy implementing essential bilateral and multilateral breakthroughs, which current policies, proposals and ad hoc arrangements cannot create.

When agreed upon by the presidents of both nations through an "executive agreement" not subject to U.S. Senate ratification, it will promote U.S. economic recovery, increase U.S. exports to China, create 12 million US jobs, balance China-US trade as well as reduce U.S. government deficits and debt. Furthermore, it will stabilize the U.S. dollar, global currency and bond markets. It will also enable reform of international institutions, cooperative climate change remediation, international trade, global security breakthroughs as well as facilitate the economic progress of developed and developing economies, the stabilization and rebuilding of failed states and security of sea transport.

The essence of the grand strategy is that the United States and China will balance their bilateral trade and never go to war with each other, and the US will refrain from seeking regime change and interference in China's internal affairs with regard to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, the Internet, human rights etc. and China will continue its political, legal, economic and human rights reforms.

The Taiwan situation will be demilitarized by an informal U.S. presidential moratorium on arms transfers to Taiwan, China's reduction of strike forces arrayed against it, a reduction of U.S. strike forces arrayed against China and ongoing joint peacekeeping exercises by U.S., Chinese and Taiwan militaries.

The strategic uncertainty surrounding nuclear program in Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will be de-escalated by the U.S. eschewing DPRK regime change goals and China ensuring that DPRK adopt policies along the lines of Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms and terminate its nuclear weapons program. China, U.S., South Korean and other military forces will together ensure maritime safety in the Yellow Sea.

The U.S. and its allies will not attack, invade or seek regime change and eliminate trade restrictions and promote trade with Iran. China will ensure Iran suspends development of nuclear weapons.

China will negotiate the eventual resolution of sovereignty disputes on the basis of the ASEAN Code of Conduct and propose and substantially invest in a new South China Sea Regional Development Corporation in which its neighbors Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam are shareholders.

The United States and China will harmonize and coordinate their roles in Asian Economic and Regional Security and relations with Asian nations to ensure the peaceful coexistence and the economic stability and growth of ASEAN nations in their bilateral and multilateral relations and roles in ASEAN, APEC, etc.

The United States and China will hold regular joint naval exercises in Asian waters, with rotating invitations to other regional navies; have permanent officer-exchange programs and create a joint peacekeeping force and command; establish a joint commission collaborating constantly on U.S. and PRC technology sharing and budget expenditures; and participate in a Peacekeeping Administrative System in which the U.N. Security Council functions like a prosecutor indicting individuals and nations violating the UN Charter, the United States and other U.N. members act as sheriff, and United States, China and other U.N. members provide economic and national security-building resources.

The annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue will become a permanently sitting commission for ongoing senior-level communications and collaboration bilaterally and multilaterally on implementing principles in the Preamble, Article 1, and other articles of the U.N. Charter. It will also focus on the rehabilitation of failing and failed states as well as the coordination of U.S. and Chinese technology and financing to ensure technologies needed for rapid and effective pollution remediation are affordable and to promote the development and financing of sustainable energy and globally needed green and other technologies.

The strategic dialogues will also center on the procurement of other resources in order to ensure global economic growth and security and will pay close attention to economic and peacekeeping issues, including reform and innovations at the United Nations, climate change negotiations, IMF, World Bank, WTO, G 20, Doha Agreement etc. and joint space exploration with other U.N. members. The Strategic and Economic Dialogue Commission will review all existing tariffs, WTO complaints and other trade and economic disputes and issues. The United States and China will collaborate in the Strategic and Economic Dialogues Commission to ensure full attainment of job creation and employment and regional development goals throughout the United States and China in areas suffering from unemployment or needing special economic growth arrangements.

China will invest up to 1 trillion U.S. dollars at the request of the U.S. President to implement the following package of new economic and business relations. The U.S. will lift export bans on high technology put in place on the assumption of possible military conflict with China. China will purchase sufficient U.S. goods and services to balance trade each year in exchange for providing U.S. American companies access to the Chinese market equal to the access that Chinese companies enjoy on the U.S. market.

The U.S. and China will encourage global joint ventures between U.S. and Chinese companies. An initial example of this will involve General Motors, which is currently 61 percent owned by the U.S. government. On a case-by-case basis, ownership limits for new investments by Chinese companies in American-owned or controlled corporations will be no more than 45 percent of each company's shares. Another 45 percent will remain with non-Chinese shareholders, and 10 percent will be reserved for U.S., Chinese and other nations' pension funds and other long-term investors. Similarly, the ownership limit for new U.S. companies' investments in China will be 45 percent with 45 percent remaining with Chinese ownership and 10 percent reserved for U.S., Chinese and other nations' pension funds and long-term investors.

Nothing in this grand strategy constitutes, is intended to nor permits the creation or operation of a "G2," nor creates an alliance between the United States and China, nor does it replace U.S. alliances. Everything in the grand strategy creates an improved framework for collaboration among the US, China and other United Nation members and facilitates the U.S. and China and all other nations' economic and national security being aligned pursuant to the Preamble and Article I and other Articles of the U.N. Charter. The agreement and implementation of this new grand strategy will immediately and sustainably reset the global economy and increase the economic, national security and progress of all nations, which is urgently required to prevent the global financial and resulting plethora of economic and national security crises from continuing to destabilize all nations.

The articles in this column represent the author's views only. They do not represent opinions of People's Daily or People's Daily Online.