Expert:More Security Issues Expected at the 2011 China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue

China and the U.S. have a lot to chew on at high-level talks this week. At the third China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue to be held Monday and Tuesday local time in Washington, the two countries will focus on building a better economic and security relationship. American experts expect security issues to get more spotlight at the Dialogue, which is likely to feature a balance between the economic and strategic tracks. Our Washington correspondent shanshan has the story.

In the lead up to the annual China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue, the third of its kind, experts on China issues in the US capital say ties between the two countries remain solid. Kenneth Lieberthal, director of the John Thornton China Center under the Brookings Institution, says the overall relationship is on a positive track.

"I think the relationship began to improve in the last few months of 2010. 2010 overall was a very rough year for the relationship. I think President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington this year played a significant role in bringing about that improvement. "

The visiting Chinese team to attend the Dialogue will be led by Vice Premier Wang Qishan, a top economic policymaker, and State Counselor Dai Bingguo, a veteran diplomat, along with officials from 20 Chinese government agencies. On the US side, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be joined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the head of a delegation that will include officials representing 16 U.S. government agencies. Former US Ambassador to China Stapleton Roy, now director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States says, both sides will be hoping to build on the progress made during Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to the US.

"During President Hu's visit, there were agreements reached on a number of economic areas, that caused the American business community to react very positively. But the issue is implementation. The S&ED will provide an opportunity to exchange views."

Kenneth Lieberthal says economic issues from last year didn't go away, however with a change of focus, this year's discussions will not be simply a repeat of last year.

"My guess is currency issue will be less central. My guess is that issues concerning Chinese investment in the US will be more important than they were last year. The issues of indigenous innovation and state procurement were relatively new issues last year. I think they are now more mature issues, and they may play a more central role. "

The past S&EDs tended to focus more on the economic track, Kenneth Lieberthal expects to see a better balance between the strategic and economic tracks at this year's talks.

"I think there will be a good balance between the two. The economic issues remain very important. Those issues have not faded. I do think there is likely to be a larger role, especially for the security side of the relationship in this S&ED than we've seen before."

Kenneth Lieberthal says the Dialogue might for the first time incorporate a military dialogue between the two countries.

For CRI, this is shanshan in Washington.