US committed to building relations with China to avoid confrontation

The United States is committed to building a relationship with China that defies the theory that a rising power and an established one are destined for confrontation, a senior official in the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) said Tuesday. "We're aware of the historical predictions that a rising power and an established power are destined for rivalry and confrontation. We simply reject that premise," Evan Medeiros said at the Center for American Progress (CAP), a Washington-based think tank. The senior director for Asian affairs at the NSC made the remarks when answering questions by Nina Hachigian, a CAP senior fellow and editor of a new book titled "Debating China." "It's a solemn responsibility that I take very seriously to build a relationship (with China) to avoid that, while effectively protecting American security and economic interests and those of our allies and partners in the Asia Pacific," said Medeiros. China and the United States have far more to gain from working together to solve regional and global problems than from trying to do on their own or from competing against each other for power and influence in the Asia-Pacific, he added. This was one of three messages Medeiros said he wanted to relay to the Chinese leadership. He also reassured China that the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are "rock solid" and its economic recovery is "in full swing." In addition, he promised to continue to invest in pushing forward President Barack Obama's Asia re-balancing strategy as the U.S. national interests are closely tied to the growth of the region. Talking about the distrust between China and the United States, Medeiros said the United States will focus on promoting clarity, consistence and predictability on how each other will pursue its own economic and security interests. On the territorial disputes in East China Sea and South China Sea, Medeiros expressed his country's concern about the current tensions in the region, calling for peaceful resolutions through dialogue, diplomacy and crisis management. "The U.S. has a strong national interest in freedom of navigation and ... in peaceful resolution of the disputes," he said, adding these are principles forming the U.S. approach toward maritime territorial disputes in Asia. He warned that if a crisis erupted in Asia, it could quickly escalate and have very negative effect on peace and stability in the region. "That's why we think dialogue, diplomacy and crisis management are the ways to solve these particular issues," he said.