A sound and stable relationship between China and the United States is beneficial for all countries around the world, as it provides predictable prospects for cooperation with the two major powers, said U.S.-China Business Council President Sean Stein.
In a recent interview with China Media Group in Shanghai, which aired on Friday as Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a three-day state visit to the United States, Stein pointed out that the U.S. has been overstretching the concept of national security, calling for a more reasonable definition.
"So if you can picture a Venn diagram, that's the diagram where you've got circles that overlap. We went from having a very small overlap to having almost a perfect overlap. So everything with China -- tourism, trade, travel, education, you name it -- became national security. And that's too much. And so, what we've been trying to do is to help get to a reasonable balance of what's really national security and what's not. And that's what we tell both governments, is national security is we really narrowly and transparently defined. And that's how you build trust," he said.
Regarding the U.S. government's practice of adding China provisions in its trade deals with other countries, Stein said a lot of countries engaging in trade talks with the United States have come to him asking how should they react to various developments in U.S.-China relations.
"What I truly believe as a person is that when we do have a stable relationship between the United States and China, it's not just us, our two countries that benefit; that provides a lot of clarity for countries everywhere, whether it's in ASEAN or in elsewhere in the Global South or even in Europe or Latin America. It lets them understand how they can interact with both countries, because at the end of the day, nobody wants to choose sides. No one wants to say, 'We're in the America camp, we're in the China camp.' Because they've got interests in both. And so, for us, by helping preserve this kind of stable, predictable relationship, it lets countries find their own interests and get the most benefit they can from their robust relationship with the United States and from their extraordinary relationship with China," he said.
Xi's latest trip to Washington marked his first state visit to the United States in 11 years. During the visit, Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to build a constructive relationship of strategic stability based on respect, fairness and reciprocity.
Stable China-US ties provide clarity for entire world: business leader
