China is an emerging great power with enormous potential to enhance peace, stability, prosperity, and human freedom in Asia and around the world. As Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte discussed in testimony on May 15 before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, our two nations come together in a series of regular Senior Dialogues and talks to discuss shared economic and political goals. The United States has also offered a helping hand most recently following China’s devastating earthquake.
President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush visited the Chinese Embassy on May 20 in order to express the condolences of the United States to those who lost loved ones in the earthquake in Sichuan province.
The United States remains concerned for the immediate welfare of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens affected by the earthquake and has offered assistance and relief supplies worth over three million dollars.
U.S. assistance to China's earthquake victims, said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, "is emblematic of our broader commitment to strategic dialogue and cooperation with China as a nation."
China has been helpful in maintaining peace and stability in Asia. In the case of Burma, China has urged the military junta there to cooperate with international relief efforts for victims of cyclone Nargis. The U.S., said Mr. Negroponte, also wants to work with China to persuade the Burmese regime to begin a transition to a democratic government. With regard to North Korea said Mr. Negroponte, "China has been essential to the progress made so far" on the denuclearization of the country.
On the issue of human rights in China, Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte said the U.S. position is clear: "We believe the expansion of individual freedoms and greater political liberalization is not only the right and just path, it is also the best way for China to achieve long-term stability."
