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US and China need semi-official line of contact to ease ties, Beijing defence forum hears

Panellists offer ways for ‘China and the US to get along’ as Beijing wraps up Xiangshan Forum, China’s answer to the Shangri-La Dialogue

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Noted panellists offer solutions to the arguably most consequential bilateral relationship in the world, at the 11th Xiangshan Forum in Beijing which closed on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Hayley Wongin BeijingandAmber Wangin Beijing
Leading experts on US-China relations called for a semi-official dialogue mechanism to manage bilateral ties as Beijing wrapped up its premier annual security conference.
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US-China tensions were a focal point for this year’s edition of the high-level Xiangshan Forum, which aims to promote global peace and crisis management.

In a packed seminar room at the Beijing International Convention Centre on Friday, a group of noted panellists offer solutions to the arguably most consequential bilateral relationship in the world.

Wu Xinbo, an expert on US studies with China’s Fudan University, proposed a “Track 1.5” framework – with the creation of “a joint committee of scholars, experts and former government officials” to complement the resumption of high-level military dialogue between Beijing and Washington.

“We really need to mobilise the positive forces from two societies to work for this common goal,” Wu told the session themed as “The right way for China and the US to get along”.

03:41

China committed to stable ties with US, Xi Jinping tells Jake Sullivan

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Earlier this week, China and the United States held their first command-to-command talks in more than two years, as part of a gradual normalisation of defence ties since a presidential summit last November.
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