China and the United States should see the bilateral strategic economic dialogue (SED) as a mechanism to build a long-term relationship rather than a forum to address pressing issues, a Washington-based researcher specializing in China studies has said.

"The strategic economic dialogue is a great structure and it is an innovation to have a dialogue that involves so many participants from both sides so that dimensions of issues can be discussed instead of a narrow focus.

"But we should not have expectations for comprehensive agreements or (expect it) to lead to concrete results within the two-day meeting," said Nicholas Lardy, a scholar with the Peterson Institute of International Economics.

In order to deal with concerns such as the trade imbalance, Lardy suggested the United States increase savings and reduce consumption at home while China can reduce savings and increase domestic consumption, especially the percentage of household and government expenditure in the gross domestic product.

As for complaints from US officials about the steps China has taken to open up the financial market, Lardy said Beijing has done everything it promised to the World Trade Organization.

"The record in the financial sector has been excellent, and I don't think anybody can point to anything China failed to do (in terms of WTO commitments)," he added.

(China Daily 05/23/2007 page2)