The meeting between Xi Jinping and Barack Obama is expected to provide a roadmap for Sino-US cooperation in the years ahead.
On June 7th and 8th, the eyes of the world will be focused on Sunnylands-a private estate at the edge of California’s Mojave Desert where Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama will meet at a time when China’s relationship with the US couldn’t be closer and yet more complex.
Former US Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao calls the meeting "historic"-saying it’ll provide a unique opportunity for the two leaders to discuss policy without the pomp and circumstance of a formal state visit. The relaxed atmosphere, she says, should help promote candid communication between the two leaders.
"I think the most important thing is for these two leaders and their wives to understand each other, understand each other’s countries, concerns, cultural outlook, and also philosophical thinking. If that can be achieved over time, but that makes a very good foundation, for further discussion and development of this very vital, bilateral relations between the U.S. and China," Former Us Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao said.
Analysts expect Xi and Obama to grapple with weighty issues-ranging from global politics to economics and territorial disputes in the Asia-Pacific region.
But Douglas Paal - who worked on the Security Council staffs for U.S. Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush - says China and the U.S. stand a better chance of building a new relationship if Xi and Obama don’t get bogged down in old conflicts.
"This meeting should be about a big picture. How do we shape a 21st century, which a rising power in China and resident power in the United States manage to avoid conflicts and cooperate in various ways for their own interests, but to achieve a peaceful productive outcome for themselves, for east Asia and for the world at large," said Douglas Paal, V. President of Carnegie Endowment For International Peace.
The upcoming meeting will be their first after China’s leadership transition and the start of President Obama’s second term, which both took place this year. The meeting is expected to provide a roadmap for the Sino-US cooperation in the years ahead.
"Now between China and US, there are already over 90 platforms for cooperation at various levels, but the face-to-face meetings between the top leaders of the 2 nations remain to be the most important mechanism of dialogue, which is regarded as the one that will shape the future of China-US relationship,” CCTV reporter Zou Yun said.
