The Pacific Dialogue is a new way to virtually connect thought leaders across the Pacific Ocean to continue frank and direct conversations during this difficult time.This is the fourth episode of The Pacific Dialogue, featuring retired Chinese People's Liberation Army major general Yao Yunzhu and Admiral Bill Owens, a four star U.S. navy veteran.The conversation took place on August 8, 2020, and was moderated by China-US Focus Editor-at-Large James Chau in Hong Kong.
Click here to watch to the interview:
https://www.chinausfocus.com/videos/militaries-need-crisis-management-the-pacific-dialogue-part-1
https://www.chinausfocus.com/videos/militaries-need-crisis-management-the-pacific-dialogue-part-2
https://www.chinausfocus.com/videos/militaries-need-crisis-management-the-pacific-dialogue-part-3
https://www.chinausfocus.com/videos/militaries-need-crisis-management-the-pacific-dialogue-part-4
The dialogue focuses on the most pressing challenges facing the United States-China relations, in particular the interactions between the militaries of the two powers. Major General Yao started by addressing the question on the escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, stating the situation there is at a critical moment, and adding later on in the dialogue that the two militaries should step up on crisis communication, crisis prevention and crisis management citing the August 6 phone call between Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and China's Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe. Admiral Owens said he believed that the two militaries can find solutions to address the issues of freedom of navigation and reconnaissance through diplomacy and cooperation. The two guests also discussed how the two militaries view each other with Major General Yao saying that the Chinese PLA still intends to work with its U.S. counterparts to avoid military confrontation.
Other issues the guests commented on include the global nuclear policy, the rising US-China tech rivalry that is shaping the economic relations.
SPEAKERS:
Admiral Bill Owens, James Chau, Major General Yao Yunzhu
James Chau:
I'm James Chau, you're watching The Pacific dialogue which brings you the US and China unscripted. And in a humble way, we try to gather the key people with important conversations and new ideas at this critical point in human history. I'm delighted to have on the program today Major General Yao Yunzhu, retired from the People's Liberation Army, and also Admiral William Owens a four star US Navy veteran and the former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Let's start off with the South China Sea, which has become another flashpoint in relations in the China–US bilateral, and in some ways could become the critical flashpoint, because of the potential we keep hearing about of an evolvement from a 'cold' war into a 'hot' war. What's happening in the area? Could the introduction of warships lead to further issues down the line? General Yao, let's start with you, please.
Major General Yao Yunzhu:
Yeah, when we talk about the South China Sea, I should say that actually we have two kinds of issues there. One issue is between and among coastal, South China Sea coastal countries, they have disputes because they made overlapping territory and maritime rights [claims], and these disputes have been there for decades. And I think the relevant countries have been able to find ways to downplay and to shelve, and to get over these disputes and to fully focus on more important issues in their relationships. But another issue is between China and the United States. That is, one kind of issue is the interaction, is the spying activities, in the air and on the sea. Another is the so-called Freedom of Navigation Operations, which the United States Navy had been conducting over the years to deliberately intrude into Chinese territorial waters. And in the US Navy terminology, it is to challenge the excessive maritime claims. And of course I think China is not happy about the spying activities, the reconnaissance and surveillance, it cannot be happy with these kind of intrusions into its territorial waters. So the PLA has to take the responsive and counter measures. And that's why we have this kind of tension in the South China Sea between the two countries, especially in the last few years, the activities have been picking up in numbers and in tempo and in intensity. So the situation is really critical at the moment. And I think that in the past, there have been some crises, like the EP3 incident, and some of the very, very close, dangerous ship encounters. I think we should expect more things like that in the future.
James Chau:
Admiral Owens, you're hearing what General Yao is saying. How do you respond to that? Could we see much more of what we saw in the past?
Admiral Bill Owens:
Well, I understand what General Yao is saying. I think this is a very complicated issue, and most who write about it, especially in the United States, don't really look at the history of what's happened since World War Two in these areas. It's very important to see the history, to see, as she said, there were many, many years, decades, when these same rights were countered, when the same territories were claimed by two countries, when China was not progressing to do anything aggressive, and when the countries themselves had a different relationship, such as drilling oil wells in the common area, or themselves, the Philippines, Vietnam, fortifying some small islands. We've forgotten the history of the Spratlys and the other islands of the South China Sea. And we have, in some ways, I think intentionally, maybe on both sides, the United States and China, intensified the discussion. I happen to think that this is not the primary discussion between the United States. I happen to think that there are ways that we can resolve the freedom of navigation, the reconnaissance flights. I think navies and air forces left to their own, with good diplomacy, can find ways to do these things. I want to say, China is a great country. China is one of the greatest countries. And as I said in my book, in the future, economically, China will be the largest country in the world. And we should find ways to do a lot of things together, for the sake of our people. To hype the South China Sea, in my view, is not helpful to the Chinese people, or the American people. And I hope it's not political. It could be on both sides. But I happen to think there are solutions. In the Cold War, the United States with the Soviet Union found ways, and after the Cold War, to resolve Arctic issues together, with diplomacy, with navies and air forces, dealing together to try to find a solution. I pray that we can work together to understand the history, to understand what China has gone through, and what others have gone through to understand the United Nations Law of the Sea agreement, and what it means. The United States hasn't signed it, China has. And to make sure all of the issues are well understood before we start pointing fingers at the other side as we tend to do. And so it pains me as an old man to watch our two great countries making something big out of the South China Sea. If I'm not mistaken, there have not been interferences with freedom of trade, and I think there's something like $5 trillion worth of trade that goes through the South China Sea in many, many years. So freedom of navigation, in terms of the freedom of transit, seems not to have been interfered with. The United States has taken the position that freedom of navigation transits are an important part of maintaining the right of ships. But we have to look at whether any ships have been challenged from going through those straits, and I'm afraid there are too many instances of that. I would also point to the fact that there are many more complicated areas in the world than the South China Sea: the Mediterranean, for example, where many countries have bordering claims and counterclaims, and we seem to have found our way through that. I think great diplomacy, with the cooperation of militaries, can find solutions if we genuinely try. I pray that we will genuinely try.
James Chau:
But General Yao, what do you think about that as a way forward, as a solution? Admiral Owens suggests diplomacy, military cooperation in particular, do you think that these are feasible ways forward not only to de-escalate what we're seeing right now in the South China Sea, but as a way forward.
Major General Yao Yunzhu:
I agree very much with Admiral Owens on his idea of how to solve the issues in the South China Sea. Considering the general atmosphere, the general situation, that the fast, rapid down-spiraling of the China-American relations, under the tension, the number of military operations, and the intensity of militarization in that area. I think, maybe, we all have to be practical and, of course, the best thing is for the United States to stop its reconnaissance activities, or at least to downscale them, and to stop taking provocative operations against China by carrying out freedom of navigation operations. But to be more practical, I don't think it's possible for the United States to do so. So to be practical, I think both sides, both militaries have been working very hard to set up mechanisms of crisis communication, crisis prevention, and escalation control systems. Back in 2014, the two militaries signed two memorandums of understanding, one on notification of major military activities, the other on the code of behavior of maritime encounters. So it's kind of an effort to regulate the tactical behavior of the frontline sailors and airmen so that they can interact in a more or less predictable way, to keep safe distance, and to keep communication with each other, so that less misunderstanding and misperception could happen. And recently, just last week the two, Minister of Defence and Secretary of Defense, they called each other and talked about... one of the important issue of that telephone conversation is about crisis management, and setting up and improving, and better use of already existing mechanisms. And maybe to set up something new. That has been the most important issue between the two militaries in recent years.
James Chau:
Interesting. Let's think forward now, if we've got this crisis management in place, but also looking back, and how do your militaries look at each other? What do they think of each other? And very briefly, Admiral Owens, General Yao, what does one think of the other?
Admiral Bill Owens:
First of all, I would say that many, let me come back just briefly to the previous point, there are many systems that are set up for communication in the event of incidents. I fear, and possibly General Yao knows more about what phone calls have gone on. I try to stay away from Washington DC, as far as I can. I'm in Seattle, you can't get further away from Washington DC, than Seattle. So I believe there are systems over the years that have been set up for communications and response. . I think the core issue.. the core of.. [laughs] that's my phone. That's Siri listening on an iPhone, sorry. The core of the issue, of course, is trust. And if we don't–
Siri:
Listening on an iPhone, sorry, in your contacts, do you have another name or number for me?
James Chau:
That's the iPhone, not Huawei, right?
Admiral Bill Owens:
[laughs] That's not Huawei. But I had a number of Huawei phones. I'm so sorry. Let me shut this. Let me shut this off.
Major General Yao Yunzhu:
If you use a Huawei you will not be troubled by Siri!
Admiral Bill Owens:
[laughs] I know more about Huawei, than you may know General. So, and I was at one time great friends with Ren Zhengfei. So, I believe that there are systems, but we haven't really tested them.
Siri:
I'm having connection issues! Please try again later.
Admiral Bill Owens:
I'm so sorry.
James Chau:
You see, this is a good thing about having The Pacific Dialogue is that we're bonded by humor-
Admiral Bill Owens:
I can't turn it off!
James Chau:
Because it reminds us that we're still people. Even we talk about governments and militaries, and generals and admirals, we're still human beings at the end of it, and we can still find great humor in this. I mean, using Siri as our cue, at this point, and to lighten the conversation a little bit while still keeping it very substantive. I mean, Admiral Owens, because I spoke to you a couple of months ago, at the Sanya Initiative in Beijing. I mean, you're a great lover of people. You talk about, you know, for the sake of people, it's not a policy issue for you, it's an emotional issue for you as well, particularly in this phase of your career with all this experience to draw upon. I mean, one of the ways do we look forward and I mean, we talked about the pragmatic approach that General Yao's advocating for, she said it's not possible, but I think that the United States and China are proof in recent history, that you can do anything, in the middle of a Cold War, no less.
Admiral Bill Owens:
Yeah, well, as hard as it has gotten because of the policies of both countries. And I think it's both countries. It's not "the Chinese are taking advantage of us in the United States." And it's not "the United States is taking advantage [of China]." But we need to enter this as human beings, as General Yao and I would, to discuss these things, to laugh about some things, but to be very serious about resolving some things that really matter. I'm sure the solutions are there. The United States is not perfect, for sure. We have a lot of our issues, and I suspect that China is not perfect for sure. But we are great countries, and no one has made human beings better off in the history of mankind than your country General Yao, and the United States has stood for many principles that really matter to the world. And my experience with talking with the Chinese is that we have a lot in common. And we can solve almost any issue together. And so I feel passionately about it. I am not afraid to say that, either in China or the US. And I believe in it profoundly, that it's part of our responsibility at our ages to take a position: that is to bring the two countries together, because we've had a lot of experience and we've seen a lot more. And most Chinese have not been in the US and most Americans have not been in China. But we can help and they look for that kind of friendship that we can bring, and diplomacy, to solve issues so that we can live the best lives we can.
James Chau:
General Yao what do you think?
Major General Yao Yunzhu:
So to your question on how the Chinese PLA view its American counterpart, or how do I view - I think that the views change with circumstances. Back in the 1970s, the perception of the Chinese, of the US military, is a defence partner, in a common fight against the former Soviet Union, and we cooperated very well at that time. Even China and the PLA was very weak, and kind of backward, compared with the United States military. We had many cooperative interactions. We had many cooperations, we worked together. And then starting from the 1990s, the views become complicated. The rise of tension over the Taiwan Strait, and also the political hype in the United States about China's military stealing military secrets and spying on the United States. It seems somewhat like today. The US Congress passed laws limiting the exchange between the two militaries. And so I think the PLA can't, even if it still wants to learn and cooperate with the United States military. You have to realize that there is a strong possibility that someday in the future, we might have to fight a war with the United States over Taiwan. So that kind of recognition, the Chinese, the PLA have to think of that possibility, and have to get itself ready. But before that, I forgot to say, in early 1990s the PLA really admired the United States military for its brilliant, sweeping victory in the Gulf War, and we spent a lot of time, researching, studying the war. And Admiral Owens you're among one of the subjects of study, of research, because at that time, I still remember that I actually translated your speeches and articles into Chinese, for you're regarded, considered as one of the three pioneers in revolution in military affairs, and the other two being Andrew Marshall and Secretary William Perry. I think at that time the Chinese PLA still looked up to the United States military as a teacher, and we wanted very much to learn from you. And things began to change from the mid-1990s. And so the Chinese military has to be ready to qualify itself to have a military confrontation with the US military, whether you like it or not, and this continues to this day. But I still think to have a military confrontation or to have a military conflict is not in the best interest of both countries. So actually we still share a common interest: that is to avoid running into - unintentionally running into a war. That's why crisis management, crisis control, and CBMs (confidence-building measures) are important. A common shared interest requests that we all have to work together, to maintain that interest.
Admiral Bill Owens:
General Yao, I think as a great country, if I were Chinese, I would want to have a great military. I mean, a great country should have a quality military, especially what the Chinese people have gone through with the Japanese, and the incursions on your borders, the challenges, the need to have oceans that are open for Chinese ships. I don't question the responsibility of China to have a quality military. And I have always felt that way. I think the United States at least for many, many years will have a need for a quality military as well. And of course, all of this means that we're both getting smarter, and we're getting better as militaries, and this is a great opportunity for us to find ways, without risking our own national security, to cooperate. And so I'll just give you the one example that I do mention in this book, and that is the new Mutual Assured Destruction. I think something is happening that no one sees coming. And that is the day when the United States can see a very large piece of territory with great definition: every ship, every tank, every airplane, with great definition, and we have weapons that can do something very quickly to take care of those targets. I also think the day is coming soon when the Chinese have that capability. So now you have two countries and now the issue is which leader pulls the trigger first. And that means that the one who pulls the trigger first is likely to win in that sense of mutual assured deterrence. And we should talk about that. Now, a few years ago, I had suggested that before many knew what cyber was, a "No First Use" of cyber-attack [treaty] between the United States and China. I still feel that way. I think that's a very important treaty. I know people say "No, it's impossible… trust but verify". It's all of the issues, but it's one of those things where we really should do that together for the sake of our children on both sides. And so I take that these kinds of discussions don't go on. I guess because we don't trust each other. Trust is the big word, I'm sure General Yao would agree with that. But if we trusted each other, then we can work to have great militaries. Not to have the outcome be what Graham Allison says, the inevitable struggle and fight between the two great countries, but to have for the first time, a great partnership, maybe competition, but a lot of cooperation also: for world peace, solving many of the world's issues, and pollution, and many other things together, pandemics together, without calling each other names, without pointing the finger, but trying to find a new world where we can have mutual trust, and genuinely make something happen. I think many people in America, if they were exposed to all of that, and all the facts, they would probably agree with that. And I don't know, General Yao, I'm hoping you would agree with that as well. But we have it in us to make a difference. And if we want to go the way of our predecessors in the Cold War, and be, you know, making each other 10 feet tall, and we have more money for the military, and we need to buy more, more bombers, or ships, or whatever. I think that's a big mistake on both sides. And so... and on the side of technology, all of those things are just targets anyway. And so, as General Yao said, I've been fascinated for years in the revolution in military affairs, that makes the case that it's all about smart militaries, connected militaries, and great weapons. It's not about the number of ships, and tanks, and airplanes we each have. That's not going to be important. But all of those things that we can do with modern technologies in America and China, need to be very cautious about all of that. And we need to be leading the world in finding ways to cooperate. And at the same time, in some areas, compete. But name calling, I hate it. On both sides. I pray that doesn't happen.
James Chau:
Admiral Owens, a lot of our audience will know you as the former second highest ranking figure in the US military. But to go back to what General Yao said earlier, regarding the Gulf War, of course, you were also the commander of the US Sixth Fleet at the beginning of the 1990s including Operation Desert Storm. General Yao, we've just passed a major anniversary, which is 75 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the use of nuclear weapons for the first time, and the only time, in an armed conflict. I just want to tap into some of your insights as a nuclear policy expert. I mean, do you think it's ever possible for the world to be rid of nuclear weapons, both United States and China are recognized nuclear countries. The Elders, led by people like Mary Robinson, and the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have called for these countries to dial down on their stocks, but also for the world as a whole to go forward without nuclear weapons being an option. Do you think that's possible or not?
Major General Yao Yunzhu:
The possibility, I don't know how to answer it. But my belief is that the word must get rid of nuclear weapons. Whether it is possible now or not, in the future I think it should be an objective of mankind because nuclear weapons are not good things even if they are useful. They are there to kill people on a large scale, they are weapons of mass destruction. They were used only twice, during the last days of World War Two, and they killed tens of thousands of people, instantly. So this kind of weapon, it had been a mistake for military superpowers to have acquired so much, and I think it is definitely not correct just to think nuclear weapons are going to stay with us, a part of life, for eternity. The usefulness of the weapons does not justify that they are good. They are bad. And just now, you mentioned The Elders had advocated and called for the nuclear weapon states to reach an agreement of no first use. No first use had always been the Chinese nuclear policy, starting on the very first day of the nuclear test back in 1964. So, the Chinese no first use policy, I think is quite similar with the elements in The Elders' program, that is not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states, not to use nuclear weapons first, unless you are attacked by nuclear weapons. So that's what China has been calling for all the time. Just now, Admiral Owens mentioned that we should consider the reality of Mutual Assured Destruction, and we should try to come to an agreement of no first use of cyber weapons. I think China and United States as two great nations, as you have mentioned, we should discuss all kinds of these issues, these strategic issues, these global issues. To discuss whether we should have no first use of nuclear weapons, no first use of cyber weapons, and no first use of space weapons. These are the kind of things we should worry about. Not [just] because it's in our interest, but because it's in the interest of all the people on this planet, so I agree with you actually, I agree with almost every point made by Admiral Owens just now. Thank you.
James Chau:
Admiral Owens, I also heard you speak about the oceans and alluding to working together to fight pandemics. There could be no greater time than the times in which we live currently. Also working towards climate change is another very obvious issue that comes to mind, and the United States and China did work very effectively on the Paris Agreement. And they also worked very effectively on Ebola, in that outbreak in West Africa. But speaking to General Yao about her area of specialty in nuclear policy, I want to shift a bit to yours. And we smiled a bit earlier, when we were joined by Siri. But Siri is also a stunning example of how far the world has travelled together in the decades since. And your work in defense is well known, but you've also worked on the boards of a number of telecommunications and technology companies. I mean, what do you think about this current climate around Huawei, and other tech tensions that we're all very well aware of? What do you think about the various national security and cyber-security restrictions brought in by Chinese companies, by the US authorities?
Admiral Bill Owens:
So, I am a great believer in free trade. And I think free trade is a very important concept. I believe that it may take years, but one of the things that I and another great person who America who has thought about China for years, we agree, Hank Greenberg and I, agree that a free trade zone between the United States and China is a good idea. And, now, that's pretty contentious. But a free trade zone between the US and China would change the world in many ways. And that would affect all of these things. It would affect telecommunications, it would affect pollution, it would affect our solutions for pandemics. It would affect ocean pollution. It would be really a good thing for mankind, if we could do that. I think the ability, you want to hear what I think about Huawei. I was the CEO of Nortel at one time. Nortel was at one time a Fortune 100 company. We were building networks in China a lot. And I knew Ren Zhengfei well at Huawei. There has to be a solution that is good for everyone, in my view. This is not a popular thing to say in Washington, DC. But I believe that there are ways for us to be sure of the security that we want to have. The telecoms, the cyber-security that we want to have in China, and in the United States. And you know, Huawei has done some things in the United Kingdom, to certify, to help to have the confidence of the UK Government to certify their networks. I think we would all agree that there has been IP theft. And so, I think in China, there is a rule of law that has come a long way that helps to protect IP theft. And is a lot of progressive work that's gone on in law, IP theft, and a variety of other things that makes China a viable partner if we talk with each other to do the right things. So I believe that every bit of that Apple phone that was talking to me a while ago is made partly in China. And I don't know how we get around that. And so, you know, the United States if we think we're going to start making these phones, I don't think so. Maybe, but if we do, it's going to be very expensive that phone is not going to be $500 like it is now, it's going to be $5,000. And the quality of life in the United States is going to go down as I pay that much money for the phone. So that pertains to every device. And China does a lot of things very well, and the United States does a lot of things very well. Both are smart countries. We need to find a way to do that. There is no question that China and the United States have spy agencies. We do, you do, General Yao, and we do in the United States, at least the last time I went to Washington, we knew we had them. And we do those things on behalf of our countries, supposedly, but we need to get control and understand what's going on with those agencies as well, on both sides. And I'd rather not talk too much more about that. But I think there are ways, there are ways for us to sell Huawei phones in the United States with trust. There are ways to sell American things in China with trust, like Google, and other things, and everybody's going to be better off if we find a way that is satisfactory for our system of government. And I believe profoundly that there are solutions that can make that happen, if we talk to each other. If we don't, if we let our political systems get out of control, then we head off towards a new Cold War of some kind and our children will be the losers, and I pray that that doesn't happen. I would be bullish about what we could do together in all of these areas to make the world a much better place. But we're going to have to try really hard in the US, and I think in China, and those of us who believe strongly, as I do in the partnership, really need to come out of the weeds and start talking about it in profound ways to try to make a difference. And so I'm somewhat unafraid of saying these kinds of things, even though they're not popular in Washington, DC in many instances, because I feel so strongly about it. And I hope that, and I know, people like General Yao and others in China have a lot of the same kind of feelings. We really should try to focus on who, and how, we can bring together to make those things happen.
James Chau:
What is so interesting is that the previous episode of The Pacific Dialogue struck a very similar, and unexpected tone. Ezra Vogel over at Harvard and Jia Qingguo at Peking University, they came to a conclusion through the 40-45 minute conversation, was that there was homework to be done. And there was homework to be done by all. By the United States, by China, and everybody else in the world today, because of the importance of this relationship. It's been pretty stunning hearing both of you speak together. And I thought, in conclusion, perhaps we could look to the future. There have been many instances that you both described of great cooperation through the years. There's been exchange programs, bilateral exercises, cooperation on training for the PLA and the US military. Just, is it possible, or is it unrealistic that we will be seeing a return to any semblance of that? Or perhaps does this world with a pandemic that throws us all into the same waters together, release some of that tension, and allow us to move past politics, and move towards people?
Admiral Bill Owens:
I don't know. I think those who believe as I do, and I think General Yao does, you know, should make it clear together, that we stand for doing these things together. And the people in the heartland of the United States need to understand these conversations because their children's welfare, and the future, is going to depend on this kind of trust between two great nations. And we should admire each other, not find ways to take issue with the other. I believe strongly that words matter a lot. And so the words that come out of Washington, you know, you can find any words you want, you know, there are bad words. There are good words, you can find any words from the American Congress, 535 of them, or from the various agencies of US government. Those words matter, and I know our Chinese friends read them and listen to them, and they say "Really, is that the way the Americans feel?" And sometimes people in China, you know, they may or may not be representing the government, but they use a lot of words and then they get into the press, and then they get amplified, but the other side of the story, the side of the story that I think General Yao and I are talking about, rarely gets visibility. It's just not newsworthy. You know, this is not newsworthy, that we could find ways to cooperate. It's just not spicy enough. You know, you'd rather see General Yao and me go after each other's throats, you know, than you would to find us be friends. But I have found that there's a lot of friendship between China and the US, and we need to struggle to find it. There was a great book called 'The Forgotten Ally'. It was a book about how the United States has forgotten China in World War Two, and what we went through together, and the loss of 20 million Chinese lives, and how important that was in defeating the Japanese. We forget how close we could be, and for those who haven't been out in Chengdu, and talked to the people who were there, Chinese and Americans working together to defeat the Japanese, I mean, we should tell those stories, rather than some of these other stories that get told. Sometimes they are fiction. But these stories of World War Two in our cooperation were not fiction. They were real. And we could do it again, if we're devoted to it, if we have the right people, and so I can tell you that in the United States, there are many who believe as I do, there are many, it's not just a few of us. It's a lot of senior people. I mean, there are some endorsements in that book, you know, from some great people who also believe in that book, I want to advertise it again. They believe as we do, General Yao and myself, we could find a way to do something very important together. And the benefactors are the young people of China, and the young people of the US.
James Chau:
General Yao, may I give you the last word on this as we wrap up our dialogue today?
Major General Yao Yunzhu:
Thank you, James. I just want to go back to the year of 1971 when I was a young soldier, in the PLA, and on a beautiful July morning, we heard the news that President Nixon is going to pay a visit to China. And it was during the time of the Cold War. And we, as young Chinese PLA soldiers, we were ready to fight the Americans, the Russians, in order to defend our motherland. This news just shocked us. And we spent days debating the significance of this very important visit. And history has proven that this visit had great, huge implications. It has changed China. China opened up to the word, the word opened up to China, and China, it has changed China, and China has helped to change the world. And a changing China is still changing the world. The two great nations, the coming together of the two great nations I've always said, we cannot just break away like enemies again, we have had good days during the Second World War, we cooperated, we fought side by side. And we have had more than 40 years of cooperation after China's opening up and reform. And I don't think that anyone, neither in the United States, either in the United States or in China, can change the fact that the huge amount of benefits, of good, that have been produced from the better relationship, from a good relationship of the two countries can be erased all of a sudden. So, just now James, you asked about what can we do? Can we go back to the good old days? I think it would be difficult. But we have moved so far away from where we were 40 years ago. We cannot totally reverse what has happened in recent two or three years. Ideally, we have to find ways, new approaches, new frameworks, to stabilize our relationship, to make it workable, to make it competitive, and also cooperative. And people like Admiral Owens and many in the United States and China, who believe in a better relationship of our two countries should work together to make it happen. It's important for us, not only for our two countries, but for the world at large.
Admiral Bill Owens:
I agree. Maybe we should look for another US president to come to China, or for President Xi to come to the US again. And you know, without an agenda, just do it. And maybe everything would change, you know, so maybe that's too much to hope. But I pray that we find a way as General Yao said.
James Chau:
In closing, I did have another look at the people who had written for your book, Admiral Owens, people like Maurice Greenberg, but also CH Tung, who was the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. And in his comments, he said "Bill Owens has developed over many years, a trusted understanding of the Chinese and American militaries." I think what's even more important is that he built on that by saying this: "He's done this through many dialogues of active duty and retired senior military officers," and that's why it's not only an honor but why it was so important to be able to speak with you both today. And together, General Yao Yunzhu and Admiral William Owens, thank you very much for your time, and for bringing new ideas, and I think a lot of new energy into a long problem. Thank you.