President Hu's Visit Series: Stakeholders vs. Constructive Cooperators

By Song Mo

During Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the U.S., he stated that the relations between the two countries are as "constructive cooperators" rather than what President Bush had defined as "stakeholders." Why? What's the difference?

The notion "stakeholder" was first used for China-US relations by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick last year, which, as far as I am concerned, gives a faithful representation of the two countries' relations. Both countries have achieved historic progress in terms of their relations ever since the 1990s, and the ties between the two are being strengthened by economic trade, cultural communication, anti-terrorism and other major international issues. Though China and the U.S. adopt different ideologies, this does not hamper the development of bilateral relations. Moreover, the word "stakeholder" indicates that China and U.S. relations are special: they are cooperators with no sense of dependency; they are equally significant.

Since "stakeholder" is very well used to describe the two countries' relations, why did President Hu raise another notion called "constructive cooperator"? In my opinion, there is something more profound at issue. It is acknowledged that Sino-American relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world; as the world's biggest developing and developed countries, China and America shoulder immeasurable responsibility for world peace and development. Therefore, even a minor change of Sino-US relations can affect the international situation.

In this sense, Hu's remark goes beyond merely the two countries' interest level; it fully expresses China's firm faith and determination in cooperation and its sense of initiative and responsibility. In addition, as Confucius said, "The gentleman values harmony, not uniformity; the small man values uniformity, not harmony." China seeks long-term strategic relations, and this is a brilliant foresight.