Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues

The world is facing a great number of serious problems. Territorial disputes have been increasing the diplomatic friction between countries and have been leading the world, especially in Asia, to an unstable future. What’s more, the Western countries are threatened by the so-called Islamic State and suffering from refugee problems caused by the war. Populism also plays an important role in impeding global integration, which means more discrimination and hatred will emerge in our lives. How the world will change, to a better place or to a hell, depends on the efforts of each of us, especially the cooperation between China and the United States.

As far as I am concerned, the first step to achieve mutual benefit is to eliminate misunderstanding between the two countries and the first move is really of great importance. As a matter of fact, because of the differences between capitalism and communism and the disputes occurring in the Asian-Pacific region, there is a big misunderstanding and mistrust between the two countries, which lead to the citizens from one country not having have a good impression on the other country. For Chinese citizens, the United States is an aggressive country because it interferes too much in international affairs and causes instability in the Middle East. But when it comes to American citizens, China is a country with a lack of democracy and a threat to the United States. However, when we view both of the opinions from a rational perspective, they are absolutely wrong.

I suppose the best way to eliminate the misunderstanding and mistrust between the two countries is to encourage the exchange and communication among students. As we all know, young people are the future. When Chinese students come to America, they can experience the multi-cultural and inclusive social environment. As for the American students, when they go to China they can get better informed of Confucianism whose core concept is benevolence, good-neighborliness and universal harmony. As a result, increasing the interchange of ideas among them will open up mutually beneficial prospects and reduce the disputes and the possibility of war to a great extent. Only by making political mutual trust as a foundation, can the two countries work together to make the world a better place.

Both sides undertaking to facilitate further cultural and technological communication can also be good for promoting the relationships between these two countries. Cultural exchange can reduce the gap between different values and science and technology sharing should benefit everyone around the world. If exchanges increase, the two countries will trust each other more and have a dependency relationship, which is beneficial to not only the two countries. However, there seems to be a long way to go. The American market, such as the film market, doesn’t give an enough space to Chinese products and it is also a little difficult for Chinese scientists to acquire the core technology of America. When it comes to China, social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook aren’t permitted. If we really want to achieve a wide range of exchanges, we must give each other enough opportunities to spread their ideas and knowledge.

Additionally, guiding the media effectively is also a great task which is equally important. Nowadays, many media outlets from each country exaggerate the other’s threat and negative news is a problem which can mislead the public. The media is the main channel for people to obtain information. According to psychological research, too much negative information can lead people to form a stereotype. The stereotype will blind people’s eyes and make it difficult for them to comprehend reality. Besides, exaggerating the threat of the other country will lead to the breeding of populism. The reason why Donald Trump could be a candidate for the presidency even though his statements sound a little ridiculous is that he expressed concerns and hopes of many Americans who hold the firm conviction that the United States is threaten by the developing countries, especially China, and refuse to adapt to globalization. Therefore, if China and America really want to achieve cooperation between the two countries, they must take measures to guide the media to broadcast the news in an objective form.

There are too many misunderstandings and mistrusts between the United States and China. Only if the first step of building trust can be achieved, can we work together to overcome the world’s problems effectively and boost the social prosperity. Cooperation means we believe in a union where we can devote ourselves to promote regional development and world peace, to get the discrimination out of the human society, to give everyone an equal opportunity to get better education and social security.

All the human beings in the world are a big family and we must stop the internal rivalry over unnecessary things. As the two largest economies in the world, China and the United States must act as role models. Only by doing this, can the world be closer to a utopia and can long lasting peace be achieved.

Ruihan Huang is a sophomore at Shandong University's School of Management where he studies accounting.