MNI POLICY: China Should Maintain Contact with US: Advisor

--Beijing Should Uphold Trade Agreements Reached With Washington, Wang Siji Says

By Archie Zhang

     BEIJING (MNI) - China should keep agreements reached under the Phase One

trade deal with the U.S., including purchases of U.S. soybeans at reasonable

prices, said Wang Siji, an expert on China-U.S. relations at Peking University

and a former advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

     Other business ties should be maintained, such as buying Boeing planes,

Apple iPhones and keeping U.S. franchise operations in China, Wang wrote in a

commentary published by the Global Times on Tuesday.

     It is however unrealistic to expect such cooperation to continue

functioning as the "ballast stone and propeller" for the bilateral relationship

as previous, Wang said.

     China should work to U.S. companies' investment interest at a time when

politicians in Washington are calling for their withdrawal, Wang added.

     --DOLLAR HOLDINGS

     Wang also addressed Beijing's U.S. dollar holdings, noting the necessity to

"hold a certain amount of U.S. Treasury bonds for a long time, and China will

also respect the status of the U.S. dollar as the world's main reserve currency

for a long time".

     Both countries should deal with the differences in "peaceful ways" and have

mutual trust that neither wants to start a war, including nonconventional wars,

Wang said, with defence ministries keeping "fairly close contact" even as the

administrations may not communicate well, Wang added.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: archie.zhang@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com