China to confront US over maritime issues

Stepping up the pressure on the US, China will emphasise on maritime issues during the annual strategic dialogue between the two countries. China is expected to raise important issues including the Taiwan question, Tibet and maritime security.  The Korean peninsula nuclear issue is expected to be raised by the US. The US and China have different positions on major issues at the strategic level. On the South China Sea issue or on the Korean peninsula, China and the US have a shared security goal to maintain regional stability. The annual dialogue will take place in Beijing on June 6 and 7. “China hopes to properly tackle differences with the US,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said. The dialogue, which started in 2009, has become the highest-level regular bilateral communication channel for the world’s two largest economies. The two sides discuss key issues concerning diplomacy, security and economy during the dialogue. The eighth dialogue between the US and China will be the last to be co-chaired by US President Barack Obama’s administration. According to Nathan Sheets, US undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, the Obama administration remains commited to reaching a bilateral investment treaty before the president’s term ends in November. China will urge the US to provide a level playing field for Chinese investment and  its investment in the US in the first quarter of this year is expected to be more than double that of the first quarter of 2015, according to the National Committee on US-China Relations in New York.  Ruan Zongze,  the Vice-President of the China Institute of International Studies, said that the South China Sea issue will be brought to the table because it has affected the two-way ties. The US has been “undermining regional stability” while “rebalancing to Asia” in the past two years, he added.