What U.S.-China cooperation means for the world

OPINION:

China was very critical of the recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the U.S. action “blatant interference” in Venezuela and a violation of international law.

Mr. Maduro was accused of working with Colombian guerrilla groups to traffic cocaine into the U.S. as part of a “narco-terrorism” conspiracy. Of all countries, China should appreciate the need to stop him from smuggling these illicit drugs into the U.S., killing tens of thousands of Americans.

China experienced this in the First Opium War of 1839 to 1842, when Great Britain forced opium on China despite government protestations, resulting in the humiliating Treaty of Nanjing that ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain. Mr. Maduro was violating U.S. laws in a conspiracy to aid enemies and kill innocent Americans. Fortunately, the U.S. had the political will and military might to quickly and effectively put an end to this assault. China should understand this and withhold criticism, despite its close relationship with Mr. Maduro and Venezuela.

The scheduled April meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hopefully ease tension related to the South China Sea and Taiwan. It will also offer an opportunity for the two presidents to elaborate on the transnational issues on which the U.S. and China can work together for the common good.

The National Security Strategy of 2025 states that deterring a conflict over Taiwan is a priority, and it doesn’t support any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. It also states that one-third of global shipping passes annually through the South China Sea, so its implications for the U.S. economy are obvious.

The April meeting will permit Messrs. Trump and Xi to candidly discuss the South China Sea and Taiwan and ensure there are guardrails to prevent conflict. Quiet and effective diplomacy is needed to address these issues, and the meeting could establish the working groups and processes necessary to ensure the two nations don’t stumble into conflict.

Also important: the transnational issues that require the attention of the U.S. and China. This shouldn’t be too difficult, given the history of cooperation between them, primarily in the 1980s and 1990s. Indeed, it was China’s Deng Xiaoping who approved cooperation with the U.S. on the collection and sharing of intelligence on the Soviet Union.

China opposed the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and worked with the U.S. to provide weapons and supplies to the resistance forces there, who eventually prevailed. The Soviet Union admitted defeat and pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989, the war having cost it immense resources, many lives and much prestige and contributing to its later dissolution.

After the 1979 normalization of relations, the U.S. and China cooperated on a few transnational issues, including nuclear nonproliferation, counternarcotics, the heroin going from Myanmar into China and the U.S. and counterterrorism intelligence on extremist networks.

In 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell asked China to assist with the denuclearization of North Korea. The following year, China hosted the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program and helped persuade North Korea, in the joint statement of September 2005, to commit to complete and verifiable dismantlement of all nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons programs.

China also cooperated with the U.S. on public health issues such as SARS and the avian flu.

All this cooperation was issue-specific, pragmatic and often insulated from political tensions. Indeed, even during periods of rivalry, functional cooperation persisted when interests overlapped.

Opportunities to further enhance bilateral cooperation for the common good

Although U.S.-China cooperation on counternarcotics is ongoing, specifically regarding the fentanyl crisis, trafficking in cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines also requires close attention. More can be done on nuclear nonproliferation, starting with China’s agreeing to have a dialogue with the U.S. on Beijing’s ambitious nuclear program.

Extremist militants such as the Islamic State group continue to be active, requiring better cooperation on counterterrorism. COVID-19 was a wake-up call: We need meaningful cooperation on pandemics.

We must ensure the space domain is used only for peaceful purposes while committing to acceptable guidelines for the lawful and moral use of artificial intelligence.

U.S.-China cooperation today is more about preventing a catastrophe. The accidental U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1999, which killed three Chinese officials, and the EP-3 incident of 2001, when a Chinese jet crashed into a U.S. reconnaissance plane, killing the Chinese pilot, are two examples of incidents that could have spiraled out of control.

China initially refused to take the telephone calls from Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, who were hoping to de-escalate tension from these events.

Crisis management and military deconfliction should be high on the list of subjects to be discussed, as should nuclear risk reduction. Stability in Northeast Asia and a nuclear North Korea, aligned with Russia and viewing the U.S. and South Korea as enemies, should also be discussed, as well as nuclear nonproliferation.

The April summit between Messrs. Trump and Xi will be an opportunity to candidly discuss Taiwan and the South China Sea to ensure we do not stumble into conflict.

The summit is also an opportunity to tell the world that the U.S. and China are working on numerous transnational issues for the good of all countries.

• The author is a former associate director of national intelligence. All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the U.S. government. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. government authentication of information or endorsement of the author’s views.