Washington D.C. – September 26, 2016. The China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC) hosted its 10th Sino-U.S. Colloquium today, seeking to identify a "U.S.-China Policy for the Next Administration." The event was held on the day of the first U.S. presidential debates.

The colloquium sought to explore potential avenues that China and the United States could pursue to improve and strengthen their relationship over the course of the next U.S. administration.

Scholars, public servants, and journalists from China and the United States met in the morning to discuss strengths and challenges in the Sino-U.S. relationship, present possible solutions for challenges, and learn from each other’s respective positions. In the afternoon session, which took place at George Washington University, former Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg joined the discussion, adding his own remarks as well as fielding questions from the public.

There was a strong consensus throughout the day’s discussions of the risk caused by the current American attempts to continue predominance in the Western Pacific.

Some argued that many frictions could be settled through a “grand bargain” type of agreement in which China might agree to help the U.S. in some key matters if the U.S. would agree to respect China’s regional interests.  Such a “bargain” must constitute a win-win for both powers and other nations in the reason.

There was more robust exchange of views in determining the specifics of the “grand bargain” and the process and courses of action leading to such.

Ultimately, Professor Steinberg said, "the place to start is that we have to succeed at strengthening the relationship. So far, China and the United States have shown that when they work together, the results can be very good."

Professor Amatai Etzioni of George Washington University, drawing from his own experiences of war, emphasized that “avoiding war is our number one priority, for both countries. Fortunately, although differences exist, the range of real issues is very small, and can be addressed through dialogue and negotiation."

Dr. Patrick Ho, deputy Chairman and Secretary General of CEFC, said that he was optimistic about the two countries’ future, since a mutually beneficial economic relationship (which could be a win-win situation) strongly anchored the political one (which is often a zero sum game). “Geoeconomics will trump geopolitics,” said Dr. Ho, adding that United States participation in the One Belt, One Road initiative was one way to accomplish this goal.

The concept of the "Grand Bargain" and a summary of the dialogue are being sent to the Presidential candidates for their consideration.

The colloquium was the tenth in a series organized by the CEFC since 2012, held alternatingly in Hong Kong and Washington D.C., and aimed at establishing a lasting dialogue mechanism through non-governmental channels. Previous themes have included Asian Energy Security Cooperation: Challenges and Opportunities, A Trialogue with Japan, Core Values and World Order, A New Type of Major-Country Relations and the Roles of Media, and Beyond the Current Distrust.