Clarence Kwan: 'Global Citizen' becomes head of C-100

Committee of 100 Chairman Dominic Ng (fifth from left), Jay Xu (second from right), director of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and Joan Chen (right), former actress and committee member gathered for a photo at its Speakers Forum on Feb 27 in San Francisco. Qidong Zhang / China Daily, San Francisco

But Kwan cautions that some "realistic" thinking should be put in China-US relations, one of the most relationships in the 21 century.

"For these two major countries to have no conflicts and no confrontations, that may not be that realistic," said Kwan.

Calling the "new-major country relationship" -— which leaders from both China and the US are committed to -— a good inspiration, Kwan said people-to-people ties that the committee is trying to promote will be a vital basis for this goal.

"Of course, politics plays a role there, but people have to get behind the issues to make sure the politicians are doing the right thing," said Kwan.

The interdependent relations of the US and China make them two important players in global and regional issues, many of which, Kwan said, may be sensitive and require the two sides to work on solutions together.

"Many of the issues are not just caused by misunderstanding," he said.

"It is important for us to focus on the positive side of US-China relations. We want to show how we can work together in particular at the people-to-people level so that can truly create a win-win situation for people from both sides of the Pacific," Kwan said.

The process of creating these win-win situations will help the two countries smooth out troubled times in their relations. "So we have something to lean on and to help balance the discussion," he said.

After 35 years since the US and China established diplomatic ties, Kwan said the only way to build trust, or to avoid the so-called "trust deficit", is through teaming up.

The new chairman says that one of his goals is to promote more opportunities to bring both countries together to collaborate on common issues.

The committee has been focusing on creating a platform for American civic leaders and journalists to better understand China by organizing visits to China – 40 in total since it was founded.

"The key thing is not about doing anything different, but how we can maximize our impact which requires skills, innovation and collaboration," said Kwan.