By Zhao Minghao

June 28, 2015

"Some people see the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) as no more than a matter of routine, during which cabinet-level officials from both sides get together and mouth some platitudes. Some scholars from the US have even called for an end to this mechanism. But this view cannot be more wrong, for it ignores the irreplaceable role that the S&ED has played in mitigating tensions. And the dialogue aims exactly at shattering such malicious attitudes toward the Sino-US relationship.

The seventh round of the S&ED begun under the shadow of rising disputes over the South China Sea and cyber security. Not long ago, there were concerns about whether warships and fighter jets from two sides might head toward a face-off or a collision in the South China Sea, which would lead to an all-out war. Nevertheless, when policymakers think of the fact that they are about to spend a few days together, they have every reason to find ways to control divergences and avoid miscalculations. The S&ED therefore turned out to be a stop-loss tool for the relationship between Beijing and Washington."

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