The United States and China should step up public diplomacy efforts as a means to deepen and nurture strategic trust, said former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa in a recent luncheon talk at the EastWest Institute.

Speaking to a group of business and community leaders, Tung urged the two countries to engage in honest dialogue and exchanges at both the government and non-government levels, in order to address mutual misperceptions and make themselves understood more accurately.  For example, he said, many Americans view China as a threat to U.S. national and economic security or judge China by its Communist regime and its human rights record. Some Chinese question America’s intentions toward their country through its actions such as arms sales to Taiwan.

“It is important to sit down and talk through and walk through the issues,” he said.

Tung, who is Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Founding Chairman of the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), said that the United States and China should address the underlying reasons for the downturn in bilateral relations in the months following President Obama’s visit to China in November 2009. In his view, the trip was a very positive one, but media coverage of it was negative. The bilateral relationship was further tested by publicized differences at the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen, the U.S. announcement of arms sales to Taiwan, President Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Google incident, and rising trade tensions.

Tung commented that the U.S.-China relationship has experienced many hiccups because of cultural and historical differences; different needs arising from both countries being in different stages of development; and information asymmetry that has led to insufficient understanding between the two peoples, with the Americans understanding the Chinese even less than they are understood by the latter.

A strong U.S.-China relationship is important for joint efforts to solve many transnational problems, noted Tung. He described the U.S.-China High Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue convened by EWI as “a pioneering effort with a lasting impact” and said that this initiative and the Institute’s efforts on cybersecurity would help to promote trust and cooperation between the two countries. The U.S.-China High Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue is being organized with the support of CUSEF.