中美对话为什么重要?
Why Is It important for China and the United States to Engage in Dialogue?
中华人民共和国国务院副总理 汪洋
Wang Yang, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China
从2006年第一次战略经济对话至今，中美围绕全局性、长期性、战略性问题的高层对话已有9年。许多人士积极评价对话的作用。也有人说，中美对话就像聋子间的争吵，相互指责多于实际效果。在我看来，事实显然并非如此。
It has been nine years since China and the United States initiated a high-level and comprehensive dialogue on long-term and strategic issues. Since 2006, the Strategic Economic Dialoguemechanism (later renamed S&ED) has been one of the ways we have made this happen. The role of this dialogue has been commended by many, but unfortunately also criticized by some, who see China-US dialogue as nothing more than a conversation between the deaf, producing more mutual accusations than actual results. The way I see it, facts clearly suggest otherwise.
对话让双方找到并扩大了重大利益契合点，实现了互利共赢。比如，早在1982年，中美就着手双边投资协定谈判，但长期搁浅。正是通过对话谈判得以重启，并在第五轮战略与经济对话期间取得突破性进展。双方同意以准入前国民待遇加负面清单的模式推进谈判，开辟了中美合作广阔空间。又如，中美在应对气候变化领域拥有共同利益，也面临不少难题。最近举行的三轮对话都将应对气候变化作为最优先的议题，不断凝聚共识，为去年11月两国元首发表气候变化联合声明积累了重要成果，也有力地推动了多边谈判进程。
Dialogue has helped both of us to identify and expand our common interests and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. For example, dialogue was critical in kick-starting negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) that had been stalled since 1982. This breakthrough was made during the fifth round of the S&ED and involved the creation of a new model for negotiations between us, namely, the model of Pre-Establishment National Treatment (PENT) plus a Negative List, unleashing huge potential for China-US cooperation.
Another major success of dialogue has been in the area of climate change. This is an area where China and the US have enormous shared interests and also face daunting common challenges. The last three rounds of S&ED consistently focused on this issue and produced extensive common ground that paved the way for the historic Joint Statement on Climate Change President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama announced during the latter’s visit to China last November. such progress also gave a strong boost to multilateral negotiations in this area.
对话有效管控了分歧，避免了一时一事的争端干扰中美合作大局。人们还记得，10年前有人动议对所有进入美国的中国商品加征27.5%的汇率税。庆幸的是，双方选择对话而不是对抗的方式处理汇率问题，避免了一场贸易战。10年来，中国坚持汇率市场化改革的方向，人民币对美元汇率累计升值幅度达到35%，IMF最新评估认为人民币币值不再低估。在此过程中，中国经常账户顺差占GDP的比例由10%的峰值降至2%，经济结构也得到了优化。众所周知，美国对中国投资高耸的壁垒一度让中国企业满腹牢骚，也正是通过对话美方在安全审查、商务签证等方面解决了中方一些关切。过去6年，中国企业对美直接投资增长了5倍，雇佣美国员工超过8万人。美方一项研究表明，到2020年中国企业累计对美投资将达1000亿~2000亿美元，为美国创造20万~40万个就业岗位。
Maintaining dialogue has helped both sides to effectively manage differences and minimize their impact on our relationship.
Some may recall the motion in the US a decade ago to impose a 27.5% punitive tariff on all Chinese imports. Fortunately, both sides chose dialogue over confrontation, and worked together to forestall a looming trade war.
Over the past decade, China has been committed to market-based currency reforms, and the RMB has appreciated 35% against the US dollar. The recent IMF statement recognized the RMB as no longer undervalued.
These currency reforms in China have also helped us to reduce the current account surplus from the peak level of 10% of GDP to 2%, which means a big improvement in China’s economic structure.
At the same time, however, many Chinese companies were frustrated by the high barriers the United States imposed on investments from China, such as security reviews and business visas. It is through dialogue that some of these concerns have been addressed by the US side. We look forward to more such positive steps.
Over the past six years, direct investment from Chinese companies to the United States has increased five times, creating over 80,000 jobs across this country. with fewer obstacles to our investment, imagine how much more can be achieved. A study in the US show that accumulated Chinese investments in the US will reach US$100 to 200 billion by 2020, adding 200,000 to 400,000 jobs for US workers.
对话还有一个重要成果，就是双方加深了了解，增强了合作基础。去年11月，中国一项网络民意调查显示，大多数受访者认为“增进了解”是“两国和谐相处”的最佳途径。在这些年的对话中，中方深切了解了美国各界关心什么、期待什么，以及美国政治的运作模式。美方也深入了解到中国的发展变化，比如95%以上的企业是私人所有或控股的企业，国有企业也自主经营、自负盈亏，政府不能代企业做主。对话就是一个相互了解、相向而行的过程，使双方越来越理性地看待和处理问题。
China-US dialogue has also gone a long way to strengthening mutual understanding and the foundation for cooperation between the two countries. An online survey conducted in China last November shows that the majority of respondents believed that “greater understanding” is the best means towards “harmonious co-existence between China and the US”.
Through dialogue, we gained better understanding of the concerns and expectations of the US side and deeper insight into the way the American political system works.
Dialogue has also helped the United States to learn much more about latest changes in China, for example, the fact that over 95% of Chinese businesses are privately owned or controlled; state-owned companies are responsible for their own operations, rather than being simply dictated to by the state.
Dialogue has thus been a two-way process of learning and adapting, which enables the two sides to approach issues in a more collaborative and effective manner.
解决分歧和摩擦的办法不止一种，对话是投入产出比最高的方式。中美建立高级别、全方位的对话平台，顺应了和平、发展、合作的时代潮流，是大国关系走向成熟的体现。尽管对话需要花费很多时间和精力，但与收获的巨大共同利益相比，显得微不足道。9年来，两国贸易额翻了一番，中国成为美国增长最快的出口市场之一，美国成为中国海外投资的重要目的地。两国利益融合之深超出想象，谁也承担不起放弃对话、选择对抗的代价。
There are different ways of resolving differences and frictions, and dialogue is certainly the most cost-effective means for doing so. The establishment of the high-level, comprehensive dialogue serves the need for peace, development and cooperation of our times and is a sign of the growing maturity of China-US relations.
Any time or energy the two countries put into the dialogue is more than worthwhile considering the enormous progress that results therefrom for both sides. Bilateral trade has doubled over the past nine years. China has become one of the fastest growing export markets for the United States and the US an important investment destination for China.
The convergence of interests between our two countries has gone beyond many people’s imagination. It is now such that neither of us could afford non-cooperation or even all-out confrontation.
当前，中美关系面临难得的发展机遇，也面临不少挑战。对话机制的作用只能加强，不能削弱。即将举行的第七轮中美战略与经济对话，肩负着为9月份习近平主席对美国进行国事访问做好铺垫的重任。我们愿与美方开展坦诚对话，凝聚更多共识，解决更多问题，积累更多成果，把构建新型大国关系的意志一步一步转化为实实在在的行动。
China-US relations are facing a rare opportunity for development. Yet many challenges remain. China-US dialogue can only be strengthened, not weakened.
On Monday (Today), I have the honor of co-chairing the seventh round of S&ED. This round is of particular significance as it lays the ground for President Xi’s state visit to the United States in September. We look forward to engaging in candid dialogue with our US colleagues to achieve broader consensus, better solutions and sustainable success. Let’s work together to add more building blocks to the new model of major-country relations for the benefit of our peoples and the world.
