On Wednesday, Henry Paulson, the new US Treasury Secretary who took office in July, delivered a major speech on US-China economic links, outlining a fresh new perspective.

Paulsen raised three new important considerations in his speech.

He said that "the United States has a huge stake in a prosperous, stable China �C a China able and willing to play its part as a global economic leader." The United States needs to realize that the US-China relationship is truly generational and demands long-term strategic economic engagement on common issues.

He also explained that the biggest risk the US faces is not China overtaking the US, but China not moving ahead with the reforms necessary to sustain its growth and to address the very serious internal problems affecting the nation. He concluded by warning that the United States would not "heed the siren songs of protectionism and isolationism."

Before he accepted a position in public service, Henry Paulsen was the chairman and CEO of the world's leading investment bank, Goldman Sachs Group. As the leader of a big multinational company, he understands all kinds of economic operations in the era of economic globalization. He has a global economic perspective and thinks in terms of what is economically rational. Paulsen has visited China over 70 times and is very familiar with the financial and cultural environment. People hope that Paulson's visit will enable pragmatic and effective Sino-US dialogue and bring the two countries economically closer. Any dialogue that is characterized by accusations would be pointless.

Paulsen did not mention the issue of the RMB exchange rate in his speech. There are probably two reasons for this; the first is that Paulsen is staunchly opposed to trade protectionism; the second that he advocates a stronger dollar. Pushing for the appreciation of the RMB is not in keeping with his policy. The essence of the RMB exchange rate issue is how to make China better adapt to the international financial system. It seems safer to take small steps towards reform, which is conducive to the stability of the world financial system and in the interests of both China and the US.

Paulsen comes from the finance industry. He tactfully criticized China hoping that it would move forward on economic liberalization. He was probably referring to the finance sector when mentioned "certain economic sectors." Of course, China will faithfully fulfill its commitment to the WTO. In the meantime, all reforms must comply with the current situation in China. In any case, China must maintain its ability to resist the negative impact of international financial speculation. This lesson was learnt by China and other Asian countries in the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

It is expected that Paulsen will take the place of Robert Zoellick at the third round of Sino-US strategic dialogue. This would be a creative option if it is true. Hosted by a financial figure, the dialogue would better prove the theory that "politics is the concentrated expression of the economy." Despite the rapid development of economic globalization, international politics is still typically between nation states. With his global perspective and financial expertise, Paulsen may be able to bring a new political vision to the world.

Scholars who study the behaviors of foreign correspondents in China said that in the 1980s foreign correspondents always asked to be taken to see the pandas. In the 1990s, they asked to meet with people of differing political viewpoints. Now they ask to visit the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Paulsen might be one of the examples of this change in perspective.

The author Huang Qing is a senior editor of People's Daily newspaper.