On a recent visit to the United States Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met with US Secretary of State John Kerry. The discussions focused on the preparations for the visit to China in early November by US President Barack Obama. According to spokespeople from the US Department of State, Yang and Kerry had "in-depth discussions" and "spoke frankly" over many issues.

This statement is worth mulling over. From a superficial perspective, it is normally a bad thing - "frank discussions" is diplomatic speak for disagreement.

The relationship between China and US does face many complex challenges. The US has concerns about the development of China to the extent that it is trying to 'direct' the process. In the Asian-Pacific region, the US keeps pushing its "Asia Pacific rebalancing" strategy, increasing military investment, promoting TPP negotiation, and meddling in the interests of other countries. At the same time the US makes a fuss over China's reasonable demands, criticizes justified actions China takes to maintain territorial sovereignty, and publicly supports provocation by Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Even though many problems exist between China and the US, "frank talks" represent a big step forward in the development of the China-US relationship.

Essentially, China differs greatly from the US in economic development model, political system, social ideology, etc. It is not possible to aoid all conflict between the two countries, as China is a developing country while the U.S.A. is a developed country that is determined to maintain its position of superiority. Against such a background, building mutual trust and controlling divergences through communication is of great importance.

And divergence is not the overriding theme of the China-US relationship. Win-win cooperation is already a goal for Chinese diplomacy. On the issue of the China-US relationship, China has been seeking cooperation from the very beginning, and the US also has a growing interest in cooperating with China. The US government declares in public that it welcomes investment from China, promises an open investment environment for all Chinese investors, and restates its commitment to treat all investors equally. In addition, the US also shares responsibilities with China over global issues like the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the nuclear issue in Iran, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, combating pandemics, etc.

"Frank talks" is an encouraging sign, and a counter-blow to negative public opinion. It needs determination and confidence, as well as patience and wisdom, to build a new relationship between China and the US. "Frank talks" is the first step towards a mature China-US relationship.

This article is edited and translated from 《“坦率”是中美关系走向成熟的表现》Source: People's Daily, author: Su Xiaohui, Deputy Director of the Department for International and Strategic Studies of China Institute of International Studies