CGTN | 23-Sep-2020
Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew speak with CGTN’s Wang Guan on the eve of the 2014 Strategic and Economic Dialogue. The talks came at a delicate period in the China-U.S. relationship.
Complete transcript of exclusive interview with former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and former Secretary of the Treasure Jack Lew.
WANG GUAN, CGTN
So why don’t I start with you, Secretary Kerry. How would you characterize the state of US-China relationship today? Does the U.S. see China as a true partner or an inevitable rival?
JOHN KERRY, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE
Well, we definitely don’t view China as an inevitable rival, we view China with hopes and possibilities of increasing partnership. It’s a very important relationship. Secretary Lew and I are looking forward to this strategic dialogue because it’s important to both of our countries. And we want China to understand that this doesn’t have to be a rivalry. There are sometimes things in which we are in competition, but it’s much more important for us to find the ways to cooperate because the world needs leadership. China is a rising power, an extraordinary economy, a nation with huge responsibilities as a permanent five member of the United Nations Security Council, and we work together on a lot of things; we’re working on Iran, on Syria, and other things. So we want to grow the partnership. We don’t see an inevitability of rivalry.
WANG GUAN, CGTN
The two leaders this time last year said that they want to build a new model of major country relationship, but some critics say, you know, as intertwined as the two economies might be, there are political realities at home…they have diverging/sometimes diverging political interests. So how can this new model be achieved? What does this new model mean to you?
JOHN KERRY, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE
Well the new model is still being defined. It’s a good concept and we want to have a great power relationship with China, but it’s important for China to recognize that there are global norms, standards of business, standards of international behavior that countries live up to, and it’s very, very important for us to eliminate the areas of friction. Whether it’s in cyberspace or on opening up markets, there are area where we can do a better job of creating a fair playing field and opening up opportunity for both of our countries. And that’s really what this dialogue is about and that’s particularly where Secretary Lew’s participation is so important because of the economic component.
WANG GUAN, CGTN
Right. And talking about economics, Secretary Lew I want to start with the US economy. The latest figure showed that the US economy shrank by 2.9% in the first quarter. First of all, your interpretation on this figure and your assessment on the state of the US economic recovery.
JACK LEW, FORMER TREASURY SECRETARY
I remain quite optimistic about the state of the US economy and the trajectory we’re on. We had a very cold winter this year…it drove down activity. We also had inventories built up at the end of last year and they naturally drew down at the beginning of this year, and there were some things going on that were actually quite anomalous at the beginning of the year. If you look at the data from March/April/May it all shows continuing growth consistent with what we were seeing at the end of last year. And, look, I think that’s important for the United States – I think it’s important for the world economy. China and the United States are the world’s two largest economies. We have special responsibilities, both in terms of our own economies and the global economy. And that’s why the discussions that we’re going to be having at the S&ED in a week are so important because we need to be able to work well together and to make sure that there is a US-China relationship that’s good for the global economy.
WANG GUAN, CGTN
Right. Talking about China’s economy-it’s also slowing down and reforms are underway, while the US is trying to sustain its economy. So given these new realities, what do you think that these new realities will mean for bilateral economic relationship?
JACK LEW, FORMER TREASURY SECRETARY
Look, I think China is undertaking an ambitious set of reforms through the leadership of President Xi and the third party plenum. It is a set of policies which, I think, are very important for China’s future economic growth, and we have been very much encouraging moving ahead with that. I know there’s been a lot of focus on the short-term economy. I have consistently been on the more optimistic side that China has tools to deal with the short term. I think the real challenge is making sure that China is on a path for the medium and long term to keep growing. It’s important for China, it’s important for the US economy, and the global economy.
WANG GUAN, CGTN
And talking about the S&ED. What can we expect? What specific problems will this round of the dialogue solve, first of all, on the economic track?
JACK LEW, FORMER TREASURY SECRETARY
Well look, on the economic track we have had successful discussions over the last six years where we make progress step-by-step. The issues that we’re dealing with are familiar and there are issues we need to make more progress on. From our perspective, having a level playing field where US businesses can compete with Chinese businesses– both in the US and China – is important. Our markets are very open; we welcome investment. We look forward to having opportunities for US businesses to participate and contribute to China’s economy. The exchange rate – it’s an issue which has been a very significant one in our discussions. Since 2010 there has been progress but over the last year we have seen the exchange rate go down again. The first step would be transparency – if it was clear when the government was intervening and why – that would help quite a lot. China needs a market determined exchanged rate, it’s something the government has committed to in its own policy statements and it is an important part of our conversations. Last year we made progress in the S&ED on the bilateral trade agreement where China agreed to a negative list. We need to see more progress populating that list and starting to see how it can become the basis for further discussions.
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