Xi's tight schedule highlights Chinese wisdom in major-country relations

Chinese President Xi Jinping's schedule this week may shed some new light on the new type of major-world power relationship China is championing.

Xi on Wednesday held talks with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama, who paid a state visit to China after attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic leaders' meeting.

The Chinese president also met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday on the sidelines of the APEC meeting.

This compact meeting schedule has brought into focus China's vision for interaction between the most influential countries.

Breaking free from pitfall

History seems to have painted a gloomy picture for ties between emerging and established powers.

Addressing the Brookings Institution in 2013, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that, historically, there had been about 15 instances of the rise of emerging powers. Confrontation and war broke out between emerging and established powers in eleven of them, he said.

But, just as Wang rightly noted, we now live in a different world.

In an interconnected and interdependent contemporary world, the destinies of nations are more than ever interlocked, with shared interests often transcending ideological and geo-political issues due to globalization.

Peace and stability are integral to the development of any major power in the world.

It is, thus, understandable that a rising China, which is seeking peaceful development, works toward a new type of relationship between major countries, one that could break the pitfalls of past encounters by cooperation with win-win solutions and mutual benefits.

In particular, such relations between the U.S., Russia and China are of paramount importance. All three countries are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and boast formidable nuclear powers.

Chinese wisdom on major-country relations

Already, this new Chinese vision is clearly taking shape.

For China and the U.S., bilateral ties have witnessed historic progress since diplomatic ties were established 35 years ago, albeit with highs and lows.

In a telephone conversation on March 14, 2013, Xi, who had just taken office as president, and Obama acknowledged that the two countries were facing a new historical opportunity to chart the future course of their bilateral relationship.

Both leaders promised to continue dialogue and exchanges; boost mutual trust; and enhance cooperation to achieve the goal of building a new type of major-country relationship.

The duo agreed on an important consensus on building this new type of relationship, which would feature "no conflict or confrontation", "mutual respect" and "win-win cooperation" in June last year at the Annenberg Retreat in California, pushing bilateral ties to a new high.

They reaffirmed their commitment in St. Petersburg, Russia in bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit held in September 2013. And again in March 2014 on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, the Netherlands.

So far, more than 90 inter-governmental dialogue mechanisms have been set up between China and the United States, along with the establishment of 41 sister province and state relationships, and 202 sister city relationships. An average of over 4 million trips between the two countries are taken each year.

During Wednesday's talks, Xi proposed a six-point proposal on advancing this new type of major-country relations between China and the U.S., consisting of communication between high-level officials; mutual respect; cooperation in all aspects; management of disputes; collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region; and joint actions on global challenges.

Encouraging signs are also visible in China-Russia relations, with the two countries championing "high-level and special" ties.

As China and Russia mark the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2014, the two countries are celebrating their best ties ever under a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Xi's Nov. 9 meeting with Putin was the tenth between the two heads of states since Xi assumed office in March 2013, and already the fifth this year.

During their talks, Xi said close contact between Chinese and Russian leaders had led to an "evergreen" friendship, adding that Sino-Russian relations should be a diplomatic priority for both countries despite the changing international climate.

Putin told Xi that he "completely agreed with him" on Russia-China relations.

The two sides agreed to push forward the construction of the east route gas pipeline as scheduled, launch the west route at an earlier date, negotiate major oil projects in an earnest manner, and discuss new cooperation projects for nuclear power and hydropower.

The diplomatic success between China and these two major powers testifies to the fact that harmony and balance can indeed be attained through a new type of major-country relationship.

Facing the future

But like everything else, achieving this new type of major-country relationship is easier said than done. To build a new type of relationship, tolerance, mutual trust and cooperation are indispensable.

Countries, especially China, the U.S. and Russia, need to refrain from contradictions and confrontations; exercise self-restraint; and seek common grounds while celebrating their differences.

Feng Yujun, head of the Russia Study Institute at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said the world was currently in a transitional phase, shifting from the post-Cold War era to a post-Financial Crisis era.

Profound changes in the international landscape and order have led to increasing uncertainties in global security and the political status quo, making confrontations likely, he said.

Strategic coordination between China and the U.S., as well as China and Russia, thus, could help mitigate such uncertainties and contribute to regional stability and world security, he said.

Zheng Yongnian, a China studies expert with the National University of Singapore, pointed to stark differences between the West's notion of "alliances" and China's definition of "partnerships".

An alliance is exclusive, whereas a partnership -- which is not targeted at a third party -- is inclusive, he said, adding that inclusiveness meant self-restraint and tolerance.

The political systems of China, the U.S. and Russia are all different, but all three countries pride themselves on their respective culture and history.

Differences are unavoidable, but they do not necessarily translate into confrontations.

China shares a lot more interests with the U.S. and Russia than differences. As bilateral ties deepen, the number of fields in which the countries need to, can and must cooperate also increases.

In the mean time, major countries should treat each other with respect and trust, which should serve as the foundation for this new type of major-country relationship.

Already, close contact between Chinese leaders and their U.S. and Russian counterparts have elevated mutual trust.

Kenneth Lieberthal, senior fellow in foreign policy and global economy and development at the Brookings Institute, said meetings of heads of states had provided them the opportunity to transcend routine tensions and differences, and to view bilateral ties in a global and long-term perspective.

"They could also focus on the positive side of their relations, reaffirm their obligations to push forward bilateral ties, for the benefit of greater interest," he added.

His words were echoed by Prof. Suisheng Zhao, director of the Center for China-U.S. Cooperation, University of Denver.

Frequent dialogue between China and these two world powers and increased military exchanges, have effectively helped remove suspicion between countries through concrete actions, he said, adding that this practice should be further promoted.

Major countries hold the key to world peace while relations between them are the basis of today's international relations.

China is contributing to the stability of the Asia-Pacific region by further enriching the "high-level and special" relations with Russia, and is showing the international community that China and the U.S. could become trusting partners, which will have an exemplary effect on the entire world.

For both Sino-Russian and Sino-U.S. relations, the building of a new type of major-country relationship is a present-tense priority.