By Lin Zhuowei
(ECNS)—The U.S.-China leaders' summit meeting earlier this month has attracted world attention for its particular relevance today. It is "the first step of a thousand-mile journey" and could lead to betterment in the bilateral relationship, which could be beneficial for not only the two countries but also the whole world, noted Harvey Dzodin, senior fellow at the Center for China & Globalization and former vice president of ABC Television, in an exclusive interview with China News Network recently.
Warming U.S.-China ties
"Despite the fact that the U.S. and China have been trading barbs with each other, the secret is that, during the last three years, the U.S. has sold more agricultural products to China than any other country," said Dzodin, urging observers to look through the façade of "war of words" and get deeper into the essence of the bilateral relationship, which is robust trade and economic interdependence.
The sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in November 2023, which received the largest-ever U.S. delegation, serves as a striking example. "The attendance from the United States was very strong. For example, the (U.S.) Department of Agriculture had been absent for many years, and they were there," Dzodin recalled what he saw at the exhibition.
Dzodin noted that the summit has reopened lines of communication and could lead to better bilateral relations, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and I believe that this summit represents that single step." He believes that there is plenty of room for the two world powers to cooperate as they share common ground in economic development, among many others.
Bilateral relations vital for the world
"I think it's very important not only for the two countries, but because for the two leading countries, it's very important for the world as well," Dzodin commented on the summit meeting.
From Annenberg Estate to Filoli Estate in California, U.S.-China relations have braved its ups and downs over the past 10 years but its significance to global growth has not wavered. Dzodin said, "In California a decade ago, President Xi proposed to then U.S. President Obama a new model of great power relations that the U.S. and China later got together and exercised leadership to make sure that the Paris climate agreement would be passed."
According to Dzodin, the world needs the United States and China to join hands, pooling intellectual and financial resources together to deal with existential threats facing the whole human race such as climate change and the rise of generative AI.
Hands together, hearts closer
"You can feel the energy in the air," said Dzodin, who had lived in China for almost two decades.
While living and working in China, he has witnessed the country's great changes after opening up to the outside world, the strenuous efforts that the Chinese people have made to transform their once impoverished motherland into a middle-income country, and the great success of China's extreme poverty alleviation campaign as well as its economic rise.
Western Hunan Province's Shibadong village is a concrete example, said Dzodin. Some two-hour-ride by high-speed train from South China's Changsha City, this remote Miao village has been invigorated through tourism and become a model village of economic growth.
"Seeing is believing," he warned against misinformation that abounds on social media today and strongly advised discretion towards online information, hoping that more visitors come to see for themselves the peaceful rise of the ancient country.
"At the end of the day, you and me, and the countries that we represent, we are pretty much the same as people," said Dzodin, who opposed demonization and alienation of people from either side, arguing that the two countries share many things in common. Citing former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai's theory of "folk diplomacy", he believes that people-to-people connectivity can effectively complement government diplomacy and bring Americans and Chinese closer both in hearts and minds.
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