Interview: Cooperation between China, U.S. "crucial for world", says Canadian expert

Cooperation between China and the United States is "crucial for the world," said a Canadian expert on Chinese affairs on Tuesday, after reading a written interview with Chinese President Xi Jinping by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The WSJ's interview with Xi is "very important" and "quite unprecedented," said Yves Tiberghien, director of Institute of Asian Research at University of British Columbia (UBC).

He told Xinhua that the topics of the interview are broad, covering a wide range of issues, such as the the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), cyber security, South China Sea, and the issue of trust and misunderstanding between China and the United States.

Xi elaborated some topics, such as economy, military and anti-corruption, with the hope to reduce misunderstandings about his policies among the U.S. public.

"On several key issues, Xi goes quite at length in explaining China's thinking in novel and clear ways. He also shows flexibility, pragmatism, and openness to discussion on such issues as global governance, the economy, and cyber security," said Tiberghien, who is also executive director of UBC China Council.

Xi was trying to make his policy vision more approachable and understandable to the U.S. public. That is also why he elaborated three key issues that have been the focus of intense discussions and criticism in the United States and beyond: the economy, military, and anti-corruption, he said.

Tiberghien also noted that Xi emphasized the importance of China-U.S. relationship in the long run.

Xi offered a large perspective and hoped this perspective would allow the U.S. government to consider all dimensions and engage in some mutual compromise, respect some vital space for China, while gaining mutual benefits on many other issues, he said.

"On issues of common interest, such as climate change, the two countries will actively cooperate and make major announcements together. On issues such as Iran or North Korea and maybe cyber security, the U.S. and Chinese positions are not equal but compatible -- they can craft a compromise and find peaceful ways of dealing with the issues," he said.

Xi's interview with the WSJ indicates that China is now globalized and intertwined with the world economy, world climate and world security, and thus can not disengage any more from the world, the expert said.

"It is now part of China's destiny to be a responsible stakeholder," Tiberghien added. Endi