Beijing calls for expanding common interests between China and the US — South China Morning Post
At a recent China-US Track 1.5 dialogue in Beijing, China, Liu Haixing, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, said that the two countries should expand their common interests. He also called for abandoning the zero-sum game and spoke of achieving normal stability amid managed differences.
The Track 1.5 format
In a South China Morning Post column, the Track 1.5 format is described as communication without an official mandate, conducted through private entities. The author of the article believes that this approach can sustain dialogue between senior US and Chinese representatives when government contacts are not working.
In the author’s view, the purpose of such dialogue is neither friendship nor a break in relations, but managed rivalry: room for common interests can expand, while other differences should be contained.
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The role of Tung Chee-hwa
The author also mentioned Tung Chee-hwa, a Hong Kong shipping magnate and the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong after the end of the colonial period. Until 2023, he was a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and held the rank of a state leader without a diplomatic portfolio.
In 2008, Tung founded the China-United States Exchange Foundation in Hong Kong. According to the column, the foundation was intended to support communication between senior American and Chinese representatives when the governments of the two countries were not in dialogue. The year the foundation was established coincided with the 30th anniversary of China-US relations.
