Author Description

The U.S.-China bilateral relationship is one of the world's most important, touching on a wide range of issues, including economics, global security threats, the environment, energy, human rights, and many others. U.S. interests regarding its relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC) include promoting U.S. trade and investment, protecting national security interests, addressing global environmental and climate change issues, promoting economic liberalization and human rights in China, and maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia- Pacific region. The emergence of China as a global economic power has added considerably to the complexity of U.S. policy toward China. The United States and the PRC are becoming increasingly interdependent, which means that the two countries must cooperate in many areas even when they disagree in others. The Obama Administration has sought cooperation with the PRC on several important international issues, including the global financial crisis, multilateral efforts to block the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea, and climate change. The Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), established in 2009, is a flexible diplomatic mechanism that brings together senior officials from the United States and China on an annual basis to maintain dialogue and build trust on an...