Belt and Road Initiative offers new opportunity for U.S.-China cooperation: ex-Trump adviser

The Belt and Road Initiative offers China and the United States a new opportunity for cooperation, a former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump said here on Wednesday.

At a dialogue held in Hong Kong between Chinese and U.S. international relations scholars, James Woolsey said that under the new Trump administration, the "key thing" for current U.S.-China relationship is "not to get bogged down in rhetoric or branding, but to start working together and get things done."

"That's one of the reasons why the Belt and Road Initiative is attractive," Woolsey said. "It offers a new opportunity for China and the United States to start working together on something obviously needed by the region."

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, proposed by China in 2013, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

Woolsey, who is also a former CIA director, has described the Obama administration's opposition to the formation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a "strategic mistake."

He also suggested China and the United States strengthen cooperation in such fields as energy.

Echoing Woolsey's views, Yuan Peng, vice president of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, proposed seeking new areas for cooperation as one of the priorities in the U.S.-China relationship.

"China can also be helpful in Trump's ambitious infrastructure construction," he said.

The colloquium, under the theme of "China-U.S. relationship under the new administration and the global geopolitical landscape," also touched upon topics including U.S.-Russia relations, Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Endit