UNITED States ambassador to China Jon Huntsman yesterday reiterated the need to renew trust between the two countries, even as he painted a rosy picture of ties that he said were "strong, stable and resilient".

Speaking at the FutureChina Global Forum in Singapore, he said: "During the last 30 years of the modern US-China diplomatic relationship, we have accumulated a fair amount of trust, much of it simply by virtue of our willingness to listen to one another and to act in concert on important issues today."

The call for renewed trust between the two giants follows the cooling of ties earlier this year, after China expressed unhappiness at US arms sales to Taiwan and US President Barack Obama's meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Mr Huntsman pointed to trade and commerce as the foundation of Sino-US ties. At the same time, he also highlighted bilateral friction arising from the massive trade imbalance in favour of China, and other issues such as intellectual property rights violations by Chinese companies.

He did not make any reference to the growing military distrust between the two countries, or the latest security spat. China has protested against an upcoming joint US-South Korea naval exercise in the Yellow Sea close to Chinese territorial waters that would involve an American aircraft carrier.

He pointed out, however, that when trust is in short supply "we have challenging circumstances, and it is our job to build up that reservoir of trust".

Chinese expert on Sino-US relations Shi Yinhong, who is attending the two- day forum, suggested that Mr Huntsman's reiteration of the need for trust showed "there is still insufficient trust between our countries especially in the strategic area".

Distrust was "not so profound" in the areas of economic and technology cooperation, he said.

On issues like Taiwan, Tibet and US strategic presence in the western Pacific, "there is absolutely no trust at all on the Chinese part", both within the government and among the people.

Distrust in the strategic area reflects real strategic rivalry between the two powers, he said.


Courtesy of The Straits Times, 13 July 2010.

• How China can allay fears of its rise
  2010-07-13
• MM Lee: Invest in China with confidence, guanxi
  2010-07-13
• 'CCP's longevity depends on peaceful succession'
  2010-07-13
• Democracy for China? Look within the party
  2010-07-13
• MM: English skills will give China the edge
  2010-07-13
• Cultural insights yield business edge
  2010-07-12
• Poised for far-reaching changes
  2010-07-12