Interview: Expert says win-win cooperation between U.S., China the only right choice

A harmonious, conflict-free relations and a win-win cooperation between the United States and China are no doubt important, a well-known U.S. expert said here on Friday.

"As the two largest economies in the world, if the United States and China do not cooperate with each other, the world will be less in place," Mark Jones, a professor of political science at the Houston-based Rice University, said in an interview with Xinhua.

"For the world economy's prosperity and to avoid a trade war, it requires cooperation between the U.S. and China. If the U.S. and China get into a trade war, what suffers most is going to be the global economy, of course including the two countries," Mark said.

"For prosperity and harmony to exist on earth, there must be harmony in U.S.-China relations," Mark said.

"U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and U.S. Ambassador-designate to China Terry Branstad are all well aware that a harmonious, cooperative, and conflict-free relationship between China and the United States is a win-win situation for both countries and the world, while a discordant, uncooperative, and conflictual relationship between the countries is a lose-lose situation for both countries and the world," the expert warned.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has said that "The peace and progress of the world depend on the abilities of the U.S. and China to respect each other's core interests, and to modify the core interests in order to make cooperation possible."

Chinese President Xi Jinping has also said that China and the United States both had a responsibility to safeguard world peace and stability, and promote global development and prosperity.

"I believe Kissinger and Xi's views are very accurate," Mark noted.

As the world's two major countries, "the United States and China have a responsibility to respect each other's core interests and compromise where necessary in order to promote world peace, stability, and prosperity," said the expert.

"Without a harmonious U.S.-China relationship, there cannot be global harmony. As such, both countries need to make the other fully aware what they consider their core interests to be and where those core interests are in conflict, it will be necessary for the two countries to compromise to reach a mutually agreeable accord," he said.

According to the expert, China and the United States are sovereign nations and the world's major countries, each with their own interests, interests that do not always coincide.

"However, through discussion, engagement, and cooperation, the two countries can work together to minimize conflict and promote prosperity in each of their respective homelands as well as in the world more broadly," said the expert.

Mark also stressed the importance of the one-China policy for the relations between the two countries.

"The one-China policy is a cornerstone of U.S.-China relations, an adherence to it by the United States is crucial. I firmly believe that President Trump will continue to honor the one-China policy that has guided U.S.-China relations for almost 50 years," he said.

On the forthcoming meeting between Xi and Trump in early April, Mark said, "This meeting is of great importance and significance." Endi