By James M.Zimmerman

Getting elected has been the top priority right now for the presidential candidates during this very dynamic 2008 campaign. But as the election comes to a close, getting our relationship with China right should rank high on the agenda of the United States' leadership, now and after the November election.

The financial crisis and an economy in recession make this even more of an imperative because China is where the growth lies for a whole host of American industries.

China and the US are opening a new chapter in history. China has just completed a successful Olympics and a spacewalk, reflections of its continued growing stature and confidence on the world stage.

At this critical moment in history, we need a clear-eyed, balanced view of China that provides a foundation for future policy. What has too often been missing in US-China commercial and political relations are the right tone and tact to enhance an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual understanding.

In our bilateral relations, the most important part is frequently not what we say, but rather how and when we say it. When we single-mindedly draw attention to China's faults and treat the government's actions with public indignation, it should come as no surprise that China's leaders seem to become entrenched and defensive.

While the next administration must maintain high expectations of China and raise our concerns to its leaders privately, we also need to give China the respect it desires and deserves since that will ultimately go a long way to helping the US achieve its goals.

We need to recognize Chinese mainland's positive moves such as its dialogue with Taiwan, China's engagement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and its efforts to improve relations with the Vatican among others. The same goes for the three decades of increasingly open diplomatic relations that have extended peace and stability in Asia, and the economic reforms that have elevated hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of a state of abject poverty.

The next administration should acknowledge that China is going through an extended learning and maturing period that requires that the United States partner with China. The US took a leadership role in introducing China to the international institutions created post-World War II, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. We need to continue in this role.

The world and the Chinese people have benefited from China's participation on the global stage. The Chinese are very clearly coming to appreciate what it means to be an active player in multilateral processes and a responsible international stakeholder, and we should encourage this.

This is not to minimize the differences between our two countries; the US needs to continue engaging China on its environmental problems, human rights record, product safety and the full opening of its markets. But enacting laws that would scold or punish China would only provoke the Chinese to respond by similarly limiting American imports or access for American businesses.

Today, for a president to get the China policy "right" the executive branch needs to discourage counter-productive, knee-jerk reactions on the part of the legislative branch. In recent years Congressional attempts to set the agenda on US-China affairs have forced the administration into pointless, one-sided discussions with China just to keep things on course. These disparate agendas have inhibited the Bush Administration and Congress from speaking with one voice.

The result has been a vacillating US-China policy ranging from subtle to actual threats of trade sanctions and containment. The lack of consistency in the US' China policy has frustrated leadership in Beijing. Without a clear voice from the American side, they are suspicious about the direction of the relationship with the United States. All of this uncertainty puts US commercial interests in China at risk.

With slowing growth in the US and the strain of the financial sector crisis, we need to focus on enhancing the US' global competitiveness which in turn means more jobs in the US and a stronger US economy. The US government can help to do this by offering more resources to support US company efforts to capture Chinese market opportunities, while ensuring laws and regulations facilitate commercial trade.

In a shrinking world, the US economy will sputter or soar based on the success and competitiveness of American business globally - and especially in China. It is short-sighted to ignore the importance of China to the US' economic well-being. Indeed, China is a huge strategic market that is essential to most companies' growth forecasts, investments, customers, suppliers, partners, operations and employees.

Amid all of the talk of China "stealing" American jobs, many are quick to ignore the role the world's most populous country plays in the US economy. According to the US Trade Representative's Office, since 2001, US exports to China have grown five times faster than they have to the rest of the world.

In the last 10 years, China has gone from our 15th to third largest export market. Nearly every state in the US has recorded triple-digit growth in exports to China since 2000, outpacing their exports to the rest of the world.

When the dust settles after the election, the people of the United States need a president who publicly acknowledges when China takes positive steps, while delivering critical messages in private when necessary.

We need a president who will build partnerships and mentor China on the issues of importance to Americans, and who will seek China's help to solve global concerns involving energy resources, climate change, and other thorny issues. We do not need one who only blames China for being part of the problem.

The author is the chairman of the Beijing-based American Chamber of Commerce China, which is an organization of more than 2,800 members representing US commercial interests in China.

(China Daily November 4, 2008)