2016年CRI China, U.S. need to manage differences over South China Sea: think tanks in DC

 

This group of former Chinese and American government officials and scholars on international law and international relations just concluded their dialogue in Washington DC.

The roundtable discussion was focused on the ruling's legality, possible reactions, and its implications on China-U.S. ties.

Dai Bingguo, former Chinese state councilor in charge of foreign affairs, reiterated¹ in a keynote speech that the Chinese government will not accept the ruling since the tribunal under the Permanent Court of Arbitration² has no jurisdiction³ over the case.

He also urged cooler heads to prevail over the South China Sea issue, saying this matter should not be allowed to define China-US ties.

Former US ambassador to China Stapleton Roy echoed this view, saying cooling down the temperature is what both sides want.

"Our view is that we want the temperatures to be lowered. We want freedom of navigation to be affirmed. Both China and the US have important interest in that. So we think the international tribunal's ruling would be important but it won't resolve all of the issues we are dealing⁴ with."

Wu Shicun, President of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, says a consensus⁵ reached at the dialogue in Washington is that the relations between China and the US should not be hijacked⁶ by the South China Sea issue, since the two countries share more interests than differences.

"Neither China nor the US wants to jeopardize⁷ their broader shared interests just for the sake of the South China Sea. Cooperation is still the mainstream⁸ between the two countries. The two have no choice but to communicate more with each other and take the other side's core interests and key concerns into consideration. China and the US should particularly better manage their differences, to avoid further heating up the situation ahead of the ruling and to avoid a possible conflict."

On a bigger picture, Liu Zhiqin, senior fellow with Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University, says he does not believe the current situation in the South China Sea reflects any kind of shift of regional or world power, saying that is an complete exaggeration.

Instead, Liu, along with several other attendees at the dialogue, says from the perspective of international relations, how the relevant parties deal with the ruling is a test on whether China and the US are capable of building a new type of major country relationship as they have promised.

"I think we have good chance and opportunity for both countries to build a new relationship, as some say this case in the South China Sea is a test about how to set up a new form of such relationship. I think America can really play a good, positive role as a bridge. You should think which bridge you need - not some aircraft carriers - you should build a bridge to better coordinate⁹ and communicate. I think we have a good chance still."

William Jones, bureau chief of Executive Intelligence Review, says what the world needs now is a new type of mentality¹⁰ in international relations, rather than the old-fashioned geopolitical game.

"We cannot no longer see things in a zero-sum game type of world, because unless we can move to a new type of relationship, a new paradigm¹¹ in relations between countries, we will be back in the era of geopolitics - and geopolitics will ultimately lead to war."

The conference was co-hosted by Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Hague arbitration tribunal over the South China Sea is set to pass its ruling next Tuesday.

1 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

2 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

3 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

6 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

7 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

10 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

11 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。