The China-U.S. relationship is one of the most important bilateral relations in the world and poses great impacts on the current and future international relations. This relationship has been full of opportunities and challenges in the past 40 plus years since President Nixon’s trip to China in February 1972. In order to promote the China-U.S. relations to a new height, President Xi Jinping and President Obama agreed to build up a New Model of Major-Country Relation (NMMCR) based on no confrontation or conflict, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. Therefore the two countries are working at new concepts, thinking lines and actions in realizing the NMMCR. Both China and the United States possess regional and global influence and shoulder special responsibilities in producing and implementing the concepts and ideas that would lead the world towards peace, development and win-win cooperation.

The new version of the ancient Silk Road could provide the China-U.S. relations with new dimensions, platforms and leverages. The Silk Road is a historically important international trade and cultural exchange route between China and the outside world mainly through the Northern, Southern and maritime routes. Now the Silk Road has been added by many new elements and contents. During his state visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in September and October 2013 President Xi advocated respectively for the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road (hereafter “One Belt and One Road”). The “One Belt and One Road” has rich connotation and is still evolving. In terms of the concepts of international relations and regional cooperation, the “One Belt and One Road” has the following three main features.

Firstly, the “One Belt and One Road” is based on win-win cooperation both in history and at present. The Silk Road was made possible in ancient times by the relevant nations’ and peoples’ common desire for mutual benefits in the peaceful contexts and the interchange contents. The “One Belt and One Road” is a new pursuance for and exploration of cooperation along the route. The “One Belt and One Road” embraces, among other things, infrastructure connectivity, economic complementarily, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts. Since its conception about one year ago, the “One Belt and One Road” has received the endorsements of some 50 relevant countries of Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, West Europe and East Africa. Indeed, the “One Belt and One Road” has become a new light-spot of international cooperation of our time.

Secondly, the “One Belt and One Road” is part of China’s efforts for inclusive development. The “One Belt and One Road” does not intent to replace the existent development thinking lines or regional mechanisms. On the contrary, the “One Belt and One Road” seeks for compatibility and mutual enhancement. Only in a year’s time, the “One Belt and One Road” has already received a great deal of positive reactions. The following four examples of Russia, Germany, Mongolia and Qatar are good cases in point.

Russian President Putin on the sidelines meeting at Sochi Winter Olympic Games on February 6th, 2014 said to the visiting President Xi that Russia is positive to China’s proposal of the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road, and is willing to connect Russia’s Trans-Eurasia railway with the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road to create much more benefits.

German Chancellor Merkel and the visiting Chinese President Xi held talks in Berlin on March 28th, 2014 and the latter welcomed Germany's active participation in the initiative of building the Silk Road Economic Belt, which will promote the infrastructure connectivity between China and Europe and the integration of various factors of production.

Mongolian President Elbegdorj during his meeting with the visiting President Xi on August 21st, 2014 thanked China for giving consideration and convenience in transit transportation, and expressed Mongolian willingness to actively participate in China's proposal on building the Silk Road Economic Belt and jointly advance Asia-Europe cross-border railway transportation.

Qatar Emir Tamim visited China and told his host on November 3rd, 2014 that Qatar highly values developing Qatar-China strategic partnership and The Silk Road proposal has offered important opportunities for bilateral cooperation in energy, infrastructure construction and other areas.

Thirdly, the “One Belt and One Road” needs as well as contributes to the international environments of peace and stability. The Silk Road and other countries’ similar proposals all need the guarantee and protection of peace and stability, thus constituting an important component of peaceful maintenance and transformation of global and regional mechanisms. As the “One Belt and One Road” is related to more than 60 countries in the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, the relevant intellectual and institutional building are of special significance at this defining time of international system reform.

China speeds up and substanitalizes the “One Belt and One Road”. Chinese President Xi Jinping, when presiding over the eighth meeting of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, announced on November 6th, 2014 that China would prepare timetables and road maps for the coming years for the “One Road and One Belt” project, that China will focus on some significant projects and that China would help countries along the road and belt with the construction of infrastructure including transportation, electricity and telecommunications. Besides, China has already set up the Silk Road Fund with its starting US$50 billion dollars and initiated the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank that will also contribute to this endeavor.

3. New Thinking Lines of the China-U.S. Relations. Speaking of the China-U.S. relations, the two countries are used to attaching great importance to the Asian Pacific region, geo-strategic leverages and highlighted issues. While these conventional lines of thinking are still valid in one way or another, the “One Road and One Belt” provides China and the United States with opportunities to think and act in new lines under new circumstances.

3.1. Alternative to the deadlocks in Asian Pacific Region.  It is true that the Asian Pacific region is the most important platform where China and the United States care and interact the most. With the advocacy and implementation of the so-called “Rebalancing strategy in the Asian Pacific Region” by the Obama administration, there sees an upsurge of serious differences and disputes between the two countries in defining national core or vital interests, regional security architecture, economic rules, the South China Sea issue and others. Many of these issues and problems cannot be solved in the near future. If the two countries stuck in these deadlocks, they will likely widen their differences at the expenses of the peace and stability in the Asian Pacific region. The best policy is to shelf their differences and to seek for common grounds. Perhaps, the “One Road and One Belt” is a possible alternative. Much of the “One Road and One Belt” is on the Middle East and Eastern Africa where China and the United States have more convergence than divergence of interests and policies. The two countries can join their efforts in combating terrorism, extremism, radicalism and piracies, and strengthen their policy consultation and coordination. The two countries can also pool their talent and human resources, science and technologies, capitals and experiences in enlarging their cooperation at a third place.

3.2. Turning geo-strategic distrust to trust building. It is also true that geo-strategy and geo-politics play important roles in the two countries global strategies. Strategic trust deficits have become a major problem in the present China-U.S. relations. Each side tries to find strategic leverages over the other. There seems no way-out if the two countries stay on this old track. One of the new lines of thinking is to transcend zero-sum game and look for broader framework of thinking and interaction. Since the “One Road and One Belt” stresses cooperation politically and economically, China and the United States might benefit from these new lines of thinking. For instance, China and the United States with India can show more foresights to look for strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Another possibility is the shaping of greater cooperation on the Afghanistan issue so as to change the former battle-field into future economic and energy corridor. This should embrace all the relevant countries, especially Pakistan, Iran and Central Asian countries.

3.3. The Silk Road endorses the philosophy of peace, thus laying useful basis for solving specific issues. It is still true that both Chinese and American governments should give priorities to solve the highlighted issues, bilaterally, regionally and globally. However, philosophic and intellectual convergence can elevate both visions and lay a solider foundation of the China-U.S. cooperation on specific issues. The “One Road and One Belt” endorses the philosophy of peace and rejected the law of the jungles, therefore, is very useful in consolidating the basis for solving specific issues. China and the United States have already achieved great material cooperation. According to the Chinese statistics, the two-way trade of 2013 was US$ 521 billion and by the end of 2013 the accumulated two-way investment surpassed the US$ 100 billion dollars. It is high time that the two countries strive for more philosophic and intellectual cooperation. China enjoys an uninterrupted civilization of 5,000 years and ranks in the present world’s forefront of reform and opening-up. The United States is the most dynamic country and full of innovation and pragmatism. Consequentially, China and the United States should and could fully use The Silk Road for in-depth cooperation more than material transactions. Indeed, the future of the world calls for the two countries not only meeting at the trading fairs but also pooling philosophic insights.

To conclude, both China and the United States should make great efforts to work at enlarging common grounds on the “One Belt and One Road”. Although President Xi’s proposal of 2013 and the then U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton’s version in 2011 of the Silk Road projects are different in many aspects, yet they share some overlapping interests and attentions. Both countries aim at keeping stabilities in Central and South Asia, promoting regional economic and trade relations by infrastructure construction, and strengthening regional cooperation by finding new platforms and leverages. Therefore, there are some commonalities and similarities that the two countries should make full use of so as to enhance their mutual interests as well as those of the entire international society. Having said so, we must fully understand that as attractive the “One Belt and One Road” may sound, its difficulties should never be underestimated. The Old Silk Road was full of natural adversities and business uncertainties. The “One Belt and One Road” will not be a royal path either. At the time of globalization and socialization of information, the “One Belt and One Road” must overcome the strategic suspicions between China and the United States, find concrete ways of their cooperation and show tangible benefits to the two peoples. As long as we carry out the pioneering spirit of the old Silk Roaders, we can certainly reach our goals on the new one.□

Source of documents：