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Interview: Vital China-U.S. relationship needs careful handling -- Asia studies expert

Xinhua, April 1, 2017 Adjust font size:

China-U.S. relations are of defining significance and need to be handled with care by both countries, said a renowned Indian expert on China and Asia studies.

"The China-U.S. relationship is a defining relationship and one of the most important relationships of the 21 century," B.R. Deepak, a professor with the Center for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

China-U.S. interaction has "huge implications for bilateral relations, the Asia-Pacific region as well as the world ... because there are a lot of uncertainties now," he added.

The relationship "has to be handled with care by both sides," he said, adding that a sound China-U.S. relationship should have such features as "no conflict, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation."

"Mutual respect is the cornerstone," he added.

"If the two sides can reach some consensus on these issues, then we could see a good future regarding regional peace as well as world peace," Deepak added.

"China has made its intention very clear and is pursuing win-win cooperation with the United States," he said, adding that "the ball is in the U.S. court. It is the United States that has to decide whether to avoid the (Thucydides) trap or not."

The Indian expert also spoke highly of China's efforts to help tackle global challenges and improve the international governance system.

"China is playing a constructive role in replenishing the international system and improving global governance by bringing everyone on board," he said. "Even the poor countries would have a say in the emerging international system, which is more inclusive."

Among the measures China has taken, "I think the biggest would be the Belt and Road Initiative," he said, adding that "it is very timely as the West is getting increasingly protectionist, inward-looking, more exclusive."

"The Belt and Road Initiative is a great initiative which binds many people together with a single stake, be it an economic stake or a security stake, be it cultural or people-to-people engagement," he said. Endi