By Elaine Wu
Beijing and Washington should work on building mutual trust in energy sector co-operation as a way to bridge growing mistrust that could threaten their long-term relationship, an American scholar said in Hong Kong yesterday.
Kenneth Lieberthal, a University of Michigan professor who was special assistant for national security affairs to former US president Bill Clinton, said that while the two countries were capable of working out differences over short-term issues - such as counter-terrorism and the value of the yuan - the level of mutual trust in the long-term relationship remained "very low".
"The assumptions tend to be on both sides that this relationship is sooner or later going to become a very, very difficult and tense relationship," he said after a lunchtime speech to the Asia Society.
Energy sector co-operation was a natural place to start building the relationship because it required a substantial amount of trust.
"How could the Chinese co-operate with us in the oil and energy sector if they don't trust us enough to be confident that our navy will not cut off their oil supplies if tensions rise?" Professor Lieberthal asked. "If we can trust each other to co-operate in the energy sector, then this in turn can contribute to broader strategic trust in the overall relationship."
Professor Lieberthal suggested the US take a more proactive approach by inviting China to join the Group of Eight major industrialised nations, which is scheduled to meet in Russia this summer. Energy will be one of the main topics of discussion.
"It is simply, to my mind, ludicrous to have major countries of the world sit down to discuss energy and China isn't a member of the group," he said.
"You can't have an exercise in a meaningful fashion without China being a serious part of that discussion. So the G8 would have to change ... to bring China in."
Professor Lieberthal also suggested China be included in the International Energy Agency, a 26-nation group dedicated to preventing disruptions in oil supply.
Lastly, the US should move towards forming a northeast Asian security community, Professor Lieberthal said. This group should comprise China, South Korea, Russia, Japan and the US. North Korea could be included after nuclear issues were resolved.
This group could start with meetings between defence and foreign ministers on an ad hoc basis to inform each other of common progress and programmes. They could then move on to meeting on a regular basis. Energy should be one of the first issues to be discussed, he said.
Professor Lieberthal has briefed several US government officials and members of Congress about his suggestions in the past month. A research centre at Tsinghua University in Beijing is translating them into Chinese.
He was one of several China experts and former US government officials who briefly met President Hu Jintao during his visit to Seattle last month.