US-China talks essential to avoid ‘irreversible’ consequences, report warns

China and the United States should discuss “a wide range of strategic stability issues” to built trust and avoid “irreversible consequences”, analysts from both countries have said.

The report, from the Beijing-based think tank Grandview Institution, warned that the two sides’ different understandings of “strategic stability” could hinder effective communication, but it said finding common ground is essential if the two nuclear powers are to prevent misunderstandings.

“It is imperative for China and the United States to engage in dialogue on a wide range of strategic stability issues in the future,” said the authors in a report published a week before the US presidential election.

The study was written by Zhu Junwei, director of the Centre for American Studies at the Grandview Institution, David Allison, an associate of the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard Kennedy School, and Alexandre Debs and Arne Westad from Yale University.

Although high-level military talks have been intensifying in recent months, it was confirmed in July that talks on arms control and nuclear non-proliferation had been halted.

Both sides realise that ensuring strategic stability has extended beyond nuclear weapons, the report said, but there is a considerable gap on what broader security issues must be discussed.

They said the US does not think its nuclear units and early warning systems near China—an area of significant concern for Beijing— need to be discussed, while Washington is concerned about China’s military and technological buildup and its disputes with neighbouring countries over the South China Sea.