U.S. – China Dialogue: seeking to ‘de-mystify long-term plans and aspirations’ next month in Beijing
In May, China and the USA will face another round of discussions in Beijing over a wide range of regional and global challenges with the upcoming U.S. – China Strategic & Economic Dialogue, which is considered the broadest and highest level exchange between the U.S. and Chinese governments.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last year that the discussions focused on both nations needing to work together in order to rebalance the global economy and assure strong, sustained future growth. That news comes from a summary in the Voice of America, which quoted Clinton also as saying at the time: “[T]o work together, we need to be able to understand each other’s intentions and interests. And we must demystify long-term plans and aspirations.”
Recent events reported at ToTheCenter.com show China to be in the midst of many internal and external pressures connected to the November murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood, by the wife of a former Chinese Politburo member Bo Xilai, and huge political concerns before the change-in-leadership elections next fall. The U.S. was drawn into the scandal when Bo’s former police chief, Wang Lijun, sought asylum at an American consulate in Chengdu, about 100 miles away from Chongqing, in early February, according to NPR. Wang was refused asylum by the U.S., after many hours inside the consulate, and is currently in Chinese custody.
The story has gripped people both in China and around the world, says the BBC news, and the fallout has managed to expose political divisions behind the scenes.
