Hong Kong News Network, May 14 (Reporters Fu Yu and Feng Qiuyu) The "Xi Special Meeting" attracted worldwide attention. Dennis Simon, a visiting professor at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at Duke University and an expert at the Center for Sino-American Studies, shared in an exclusive interview with Hong Kong News. He expressed his views on the important role of the two heads of state in "top-level promotion" in Sino-US relations, as well as on bilateral trade, Taiwan issues, science and technology and education.

Dennis WestMongolia is currently a senior researcher at the Quincy Institute of Governance and Tsinghua University.He was awarded the "Chinese Government Friendship Award" in 2006, and has long been deeply engaged in the fields of Sino-US scientific and technological cooperation, innovation policy and higher education exchanges. In his view, the Sino-US meeting is of great significance and vital importance, and he hopes that it can lay the foundation for the improvement of relations between the two countries.

Senior Fellow, Quincy Institute of Governance, Tsinghua UniversityVisiting Professor, Bank of America, Schwarzman CollegeDennis Simon is interviewed by reporters.

Strengthen communication at the leadership level and establish more "crisis management" tools

"Trump postponed his visit because of the war in Iran-his intern chairman could have said to Trump, 'I don't want to be on the same stage with you because of what's happening in the Middle East. 'But on the contrary, the leaders of the two countries agreed that it is very important to hold this meeting, reflecting the high level of communication and contact between the two sides and dialogue with each other no matter what issues they face. This is a good sign and good for the future. "Dennis Simon opens his mind.

The world's two largest economies have shown a greater degree of interdependence on each other, and this level of interdependence means that you can't just turn off the game and leave-that would be too costly and disruptive. The United States needs China, China needs the United States, and the world needs a viable U. S.-China bilateral relationship so that other countries do not have to be caught in the game between these two countries. It's like a three-legged stool: America wins, China wins, and the world wins.

Dennis Simon believes that Sino-US relations have a unique feature: top-level promotion is of particular importance in bilateral relations, enabling the two countries to engage in at least some kind of so-called "managed competition", then, the possibility of substantive conflict will be reduced. "The more we can institutionalize our problem-solving mechanisms, the more likely we are to have a better future. Strengthening communication at the leadership level and building more 'crisis management' tools are critical to ensuring that there is less instability and more stability in the future. So this meeting is significant and crucial, and hopefully it will lay the foundation for an improved U. S.-China relationship."

Let science and technology cooperation set out "red zone" and "green zone" to jointly deal with public domain problems

Because of the importance of science and technology, there is a bilateral agreement between China and the United States that was originally signed in 1979 and has since been renewed every five years. Under the Biden administration, the agreement should be renewed again, but it took more than 18 months to complete the renewal. The good news is that it will eventually be renewed on December 20, 2024, but the bad news is that the agreement is now largely dormant.

Dennis Simon believes that if the two sides can find a way to recognize that some areas are not suitable for cooperation-call it the "red zone", while other areas can be opened up for cooperation-call it the "green zone", it will help both countries. "I hope they can identify areas such as clean energy, air pollution control, research on cancer treatments, oceanographic research. These areas do not involve major national security implications and are in the field of public goods that can benefit both sides, and even the rest of the world."

"I hope that the leaders of the two countries can make some kind of gesture that we are ready to get back on track and start some form of cooperation, and once again prove that the two countries can meet major global challenges such as clean energy and climate change-which is good for the United States and China. It's good for the world."

"I think this is the original intention of China and the United States when they started this relationship in 1979. A stable and modernized China is beneficial to China, the United States and the world. Hopefully, in 2026, we'll be back to something like that. A meeting of two days or so may not decide everything, but perhaps a road map can be found to indicate how to move in a more positive direction, rather than staying in the current deadlock."

Institutionalized mechanisms help to enhance trade interaction

"The United States wants to help narrow the trade deficit and at the very least wants to better manage the flow of Chinese goods into the United States. That means, ideally, increasing the amount of goods that China imports from the United States. We understand that they discussed corn and soybeans and probably wheat."

According to Dennis Simon, the business community thrives in a predictable and stable environment, and uncertainty is very costly to business because they cannot make investment decisions with enough confidence that they can get the expected return on investment. So whether it's trade tariffs, artificial intelligence, or Chinese inward investment in the United States (such as the possible production of electric vehicles), business on both sides of the Pacific is looking for greater clarity.

"We need to establish a mechanism to institutionalize this mechanism, so that there can be a regular organization to report on the status of trade relations, so as to get rid of the threat of tariffs and various sanctions, and the rules of exchanges in the trade field can be more clearly listed. come out."

He believes that a "bilateral trade committee" and a corresponding "investment committee" can be established ". "In other words, instead of yelling at each other over the years, we need to have a mechanism that institutionalizes a mechanism where, when problems are encountered, the two committees can be responsible for developing some kind of solution on a continuous basis that will allow us to gradually but steadily expand our interaction in these areas."

On the Taiwan issue: "China is no longer the China of 1980, nor the China of 2000"

Speaking of the Taiwan issue, Dennis Simon said: "There are then a bunch of really long-term issues between China and the United States. I hope that from this meeting, the two leaders can convey words (to promote regional) stability."

He said: "I think both leaders realize that the conflict over Taiwan is disastrous for everyone. China is not the China of 1980, nor the China of 2000. its military strength is more advanced and it has amphibious landing capability. Now it has drones, programmable missiles, aircraft carriers, and a variety of devices that were not considered before. So even a U.S. victory in a possible conflict would be a very costly victory. I think everyone wants to step back a little bit and try to find a solution."

Education used to be the cornerstone of Sino-US bilateral relations. Attention should be paid to solving

Dennis Simon also shared his views on the Middle East issues that will be covered in the Sino-US bilateral talks:

"When the China-US meeting was initially finalized, a crisis involving the United States, Israel, and Iran was not expected in the Middle East. This unexpected factor suddenly put a series of additional issues on the agenda: including crisis management between the world's two superpowers., How to contain regional and global conflicts, and the establishment of some constructive mechanism to prevent the'zero sum' situation."

"The United States believes that China can play a constructive role in helping to moderate Iran's hardline position and push it to consider some kind of solution that will truly end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow free passage of ships."

He also focused on AI governance and the "education relationship" between the two countries. He said: "In the past, education and science and technology used to be the" cornerstone elements "of the bilateral relationship. Even in some politically difficult times, The education bond and research cooperation between the two countries are still moving forward. But from the end of Obama to the beginning of Trump, these cornerstone elements have instead become the focus of conflict, becoming very prominent and at the core in the past eight to ten years or so."

"At present, the number of Chinese students studying in the United States has dropped from a peak of 372000 in 2019 to less than 250000 this year. The number of American students studying in China is even less. Around 2011 and 2012, there were about 15000 students at the peak, but now the number of American students in China is less than 2000. We must find a way to solve this problem. "(finished)