By Julyssa Lopez
Cybersecurity breaches and economic competition are among issues that strain U.S.-China relations, and many experts on the relationships between the world powers wonder whether Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to the United States this month will abate tension. A group of CEOs examined the points of conflict that may affect the upcoming visit during a panel discussion on Tuesday organized by the 100K Strong Foundation.
The conversation was held at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and included Kurt Campbell of the Center for a New American Security, John Hamre of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Daniel Rosen of the Rhodium Group and Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress. Ali Weinberg of ABC News served as the panel’s moderator.
George Washington President Steven Knapp presented brief remarks and explained that the university’s involvement with the 100K Strong Foundation builds on work done by GW’s Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the Confucius Institute, both dedicated to examining and growing the relationship between the United States and China.
“We’ve been interested in a number of the areas of contention and opportunities between the two nations, and those include anxieties about what’s happening in the Chinese stock market at the moment, questions of the expanding role of China in the South China Sea and the issue of cybersecurtiy and who is responsible for perpetrating and permitting cyber piracy,” said Dr. Knapp, who is chair of the 100K Strong Foundation’s Academic Advisory Council.
President Xi has planned a visit to the United States starting Sept. 25. His trip comes as the Obama administration chose not to impose financial sanctions on China for cyberspying against U.S. companies.
“It’s sensible state craft not to make a sharp issue right before a big meeting,” Dr. Hamre said. “I think it reflects the complexity of our relationship. This is a very big deal, and it’s going to become much bigger.”
He emphasized that the two countries can instead focus on issues they can tackle together, like combatting criminal and terrorist elements that may undermine shared banking systems or commercial enterprises.
The panelists also underscored the importance of getting the business community to participate in conversations about the U.S.-China relationship. President Xi is planning to meet with the CEOs of Apple, IBM, Google and Facebook during the annual Microsoft Technology Forum next week. All of these companies have a vested interest in China as well as in national security concerns, Mr. Rosen said.
Ms. Tanden added that President Xi’s visit also gives China the opportunity to address growing concerns about its economy, specifically its plummeting stock market.
“I do think this is a critical moment for China to articulate its case to the world about being an economy that will grow, and grow stably, in the 21st century because there are real anxieties about that question,” she said. “It’s a crucial time for Chinese leaders to express that clearly.”
The panel closed the discussion by listing potential outcomes of President Xi’s visit. The speakers agreed that while work needs to be done before the United States and China can address security concerns, the visit could lead to successful negotiations about climate change. Still, Dr. Campbell said that he’d like to see the United States and China find a visionary goal to work on together.
“Beyond something like climate change, the United States and China have to find something that animates the spirit of cooperation amidst all of the issues we highlighted,” he said.