EXCHANGING VIEWS: Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo (right) meets in Beijing with Jeffrey Bader, senior director for Asian affairs on the U.S. National Security Council, on October 27, 2009 (DING LIN)

The United States would like China to become a responsible stakeholder. Yet some say China cannot be a responsible stakeholder and take on a global role in conflict resolution before it can protect its own core interests like Taiwan, Tibet and its borders. What's your view on this?

I think Beijing has been somewhat startled by the rapidity with which its global position has strengthened. Its rise from being seen as a regional power to being a global power has been accelerated by the dynamics of the global economic crisis. China is just beginning to develop the posture it will want to take on major global issues.

One of the most important questions it confronts is to determine the extent to which it is prepared to contribute to global public goods, beyond taking a very narrowly nationalistic approach to global issues. Beijing appears to be in the early stages of figuring this out, and there are debates almost across the board on the specific policies China should adopt. This is a process that will take a few years to work out; it is a time when diplomacy toward China might, therefore, play a particularly important role in shaping internal discussions there.

Why is economic growth in the United States so anemic compared with China, and what can the United States learn from the Chinese experience?

It is very difficult to make meaningful comparisons between U.S. and Chinese economic growth. Chinese growth remains primarily extensive, while U.S. growth has long been intensive. The U.S. economy is far more efficient than China's, and is far more developed across the board. Perhaps the main "lesson" for the United States [to learn] from China is the importance of investing in basic infrastructure, in education, and in policies directed at addressing the most critical issues the economy faces. The United States learned these lessons a long time ago, and they were key to earlier stages of American development. But we in recent years have taken our collective eye off the ball, and China's recent efforts may serve a helpful reminder that we need to get back to the basics we have traditionally done so well.

Does China have to worry about balancing the budget and national debt?

China currently has a far more balanced budget than does the United States, and its government debt as a percentage of GDP is the lowest among all major economies. Thus, as it exits the economic crisis, it has more degrees of freedom to invest in things like infrastructure without relying on increased taxes than does any other major economy.

What has happened to "strategic reassurance" as explicated by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg?

The term never really caught on as an administration mantra. But the notion of deep discussions that involve candid reviews of both policy considerations and future plans is one that the Obama administration very much is pursuing with Beijing. This is reflected in the S&ED, in the Obama trip to Beijing in November and among other efforts in Steinberg's current trip to Beijing for consultations.

James Steinberg

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg serves as the principal deputy to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Appointed by President Barack Obama, he was sworn in on January 29, 2009.

Steinberg coined the phrase "strategic reassurance" to describe China-U.S. relations. Under this concept, he indicated the two countries should reassure each other about their respective major concerns.

Jeffrey Bader

Jeffrey Bader became senior director for Asian affairs on the U.S. National Security Council in January 2009. Before joining the Obama administration, he worked as director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, from 2005 to 2009.

(Reporting from New York)