The U.S. Senate has sworn in Gary Locke as the new U.S. ambassador to China after receiving a unanimous confirmation. China, the Untied States, and the entire world are looking forward to seeing what changes Locke will bring to relations between the two countries.
Many people congratulated him on the new appointment and expressed hope that he can actively promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.
The active cooperation between China and the Untied States in various fields since the normalization of their bilateral relations has boosted economic growth in both countries and promoted regional and global stability. Furthermore, the rational and positive exchanges between the two countries have exerted a profound impact on the common interests of several billion people in the Asia-Pacific region.
Thanks to the support of the governments and peoples of the two countries, China and the Untied States have maintained a positive relationship and have shared growing common interests. Their ambassadors to each other’s country bear a great responsibility for promoting mutual communication and understanding.
Currently, both China and the United States are in a crucial period for industrial upgrades and economic expansion. As the new ambassador to China in the 2010s, Locke has a duty to further stabilize and deepen China-U.S. relations.
Locke has political experience in both local and central governments of the United States and has accomplished outstanding achievements in his different posts, including promoting the ties between the United States and China. He has won the recognition and respect of both countries through his solid work ranging from strengthening the economic and trade ties with China when serving as Washington governor to advocating more stable economic and trade growth of the two countries when serving as U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Locke has rich experience in promoting exchanges and cooperation between the United States and China, which can reasonably be deemed as positive evidence that he will be competent in the significant new post. Ambassadors are the top-level official representatives dispatched by one country to other countries. It is believed that Locke will use his outstanding leadership to succeed in acting as a distinguished messenger advancing China-U.S. relations.
Locke is faced with unprecedented width and depth in the exchanges between China and the United States as well as the consensus of the two countries’ governments and their people on continuously advancing the positive and wide bilateral cooperative partnership. This is a solid foundation for his service as the U.S. ambassador to China so that he will begin a hopeful undertaking.
Meanwhile, both China and the United States are faced with many opportunities and challenges in balancing their respective economic and financial development as well as their bilateral economic and trade ties. Whether or not both sides can properly handle the challenges will determine whether the two countries and the rest of the world can achieve stable economic development. Therefore, each side has high expectations for how Locke will improve the exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States.
While the balance of power across the Pacific is changing, the United States has become more worried and suspicious, especially in the areas of regional security and global dominance. And it will be a test of how the newly assigned U.S. ambassador to China Gary Faye Locke will safeguard the interests of the United States and pursue a win-win situation for the two countries.
The cooperation and competition between China and the United States have become more complex, so effective communication between the two sides is very important. It could reflect that the United States attaches great importance to the communication that it assigned Locke as the ambassador at this moment. Some people have noticed that his ethnic background is an advantage for promoting cultural communication between the two countries, and we also believe that the more mutually dependent beneficial relations between China and United States will positively affect his work.
We deeply understand that although the relations between any two countries fundamentally depend on the core interests of the countries, they are also closed linked with the positive communication and mutual respect between the countries. The Chinese side is willing to make efforts together with Locke to improve communication, promote mutual respect, and improve and perfect the relations between China and the Untied States.
(The author is the executive vice-president and a professor of the Institute of International Studies under the Fudan University.)