Since the beginning of this year, American politicians and business celebrities have visited China. Almost all the important officials involved in China have come, and the just-concluded President Bush's visit to China has reached a climax. Next, the second round of China-US strategic dialogue will kick off again. The frequent interaction between China and the United States highlights the basic fact that the strategic importance of bilateral relations is increasing day by day.

The strategic importance of Sino-US relations is increasing day by day, first of all, because the background of bilateral relations is undergoing subtle and profound changes. In the strategic vision of the United States, the "China issue" is turning into "the rise of China", and there is a heated debate in the United States about how to deal with "the rise of China". Remarkably, in September this year, US Deputy Secretary of State Zoellick proposed "I hope to run the international order with China and take risks and responsibilities". This relatively pragmatic "China view" is reinforced by the United States' awareness of the long-term nature of the anti-terrorism strategy. China is also more confident in seeking harmonious coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation with the United States in the process of peaceful development, and its strategic initiative in diplomacy with the United States has been significantly enhanced.

Secondly, the breadth and depth of Sino-US relations are developing simultaneously. In terms of breadth, the exchanges between China and the United States have gradually expanded from the past political, economic, military and cultural levels to the strategic security level, global level and non-traditional security level. During the strategic dialogue between China and the United States, the two countries cooperated in anti-terrorism and bird flu prevention, and the relations between the two militaries were gradually restored and developed. This shows that the gap between China and the United States is getting less and less. On the other hand, the deepening of economic and trade cooperation makes both sides try their best to avoid the serious economic and political consequences brought about by the escalation of trade friction, and try to resolve the conflict through consultation. President Bush said frankly: "Some people in the United States are worried about China's economic development, but I am not worried." In Washington's view, China's economic development "is also an opportunity for the United States". In depth, Sino-US exchanges and cooperation are gradually institutionalized. The United States is paying more and more attention to China's economic system, judicial system and other deep-seated issues. China's concern for the United States also extends from the federal government and officials to Congress, local governments and ordinary people. More importantly, opposing and containing the "Taiwan independence" and maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are in the interests of both China and the United States.

The strategic importance of Sino-US relations has another connotation, that is, this relationship is playing an increasingly important role in stimulating changes in the international pattern. Former US President George H.W. Bush pointed out at the second Sino-US relations seminar a few days ago that Sino-US relations have become the "most important pair of bilateral relations" in the world today. When meeting with President Bush, President Hu Jintao also stressed that Sino-US relations have gone far beyond the bilateral scope and become more and more global. It is true that Sino-US relations are not only related to the well-being of the two peoples, but also increasingly affect the changes in the world strategic pattern. This profound historical change is reflected in the complex changes in international relations in recent years. China and the United States believe that China and the United States share extensive common interests and shoulder major common responsibilities on major issues such as UN reform and development, promoting the Doha Round negotiation process, solving regional hotspots, preventing and responding to terrorism, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, preventing natural disasters and controlling epidemics.

The growing strategic importance of Sino-US relations has objectively put forward higher requirements for both China and the United States. For the United States, whether it sincerely accepts the peaceful development of China and whether it pragmatically thinks about peace with China will test the wisdom of American strategic decision makers; For China, how to ensure the long-term and stable development of Sino-US relations from a strategic and long-term perspective is also related to the external environment for China to achieve the grand goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way.