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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

US-China ties: focus on national security ‘not healthy’, head of advisory body says

  • Stephen Orlins, of the National Committee on US-China Relations, says leaders could agree on how they define ‘national security’ to provide clarity
  • He also says more communication is needed between US and Chinese presidents and a mechanism should be set up for them to regularly meet

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Stephen Orlins, who heads the National Committee on US-China relations, said everything has become about national security. Photo: Reuters
Cyril Ip

There should be a mechanism for the US and Chinese leaders to regularly meet, and they could agree on how to define “national security” as a way to avoid restrictions that affect the world economy, the head of the National Committee on US-China Relations says.

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Stephen Orlins, who leads the New York-based advisory body that promotes unofficial exchanges between the two sides, also said US politicians had limited scope to push for a healthier relationship with China given the sentiment among voters.

“The American public is extremely negative [about] China,” Orlins said at a University of Hong Kong seminar on US-China relations on Tuesday. “What that means to a politician in the US is … there’s not a tonne of benefits [for] a politician [to do] something constructive with China.”

Stephen Orlins called for more frequent and regular communication between the leaders. Photo: Xinhua
Stephen Orlins called for more frequent and regular communication between the leaders. Photo: Xinhua

He cited a Pew Research Centre survey from March that found 83 per cent of adults in the United States had negative views of China. It also found that four in 10 saw China as an enemy of their country, rather than a competitor or partner – up 13 percentage points from 2022.

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