Interview: China-U.S. ties vital to peace, prosperity in Asia: Cambodian scholar

A Cambodian pundit says that good China-U.S. ties are very important to ensure peace and prosperity in Asia and that the upcoming state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States will be a great opportunity for the two countries to build mutual trust.

"Stable and healthy China-U.S. relations are the cornerstone of a peaceful and prosperous Asia," Chheang Vannarith, chairman of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies, told Xinhua on Monday.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the U.S. will be a milestone in building trust, finding common ground or areas for cooperation, and collectively addressing global issues such as poverty, sustainable development, climate change, and terrorism."

He said the world's two largest economies are playing vital roles to maintain peace and stability and to boost development in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Both countries are the pillars of peace and development in the Asia Pacific region. However, they need to readjust their positions and learn to accommodate each others' core interests," Vannarith said. "Frequent, frank, and honest dialogue between the leaders of the two countries will significantly contribute to confidence and trust building."

He said the two countries need to send a clear signal to each other, be transparent in their motives and actions, and be responsible stakeholders.

Vannarith, who is also a lecturer of Asia-Pacific Studies at the University of Leeds in Britain, said China and the U.S. need to work together to build and strengthen regional and global architectures that serve the global community of nations.

"They both also need to collectively work towards the strengthening of ASEAN-centric regional security and economic architectures instead of creating their own architecture that conflicts with each other," he said. Endi