Luis Enrique Ascui Wang Jisi, director of the Institute of American Studies at the ChineseAcademy of Social Sciences, Beijing.

Despite its opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, China’s cooperation with the United States in fighting terrorism is helping relations between the two powers, said Wang Jisi, director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing.

Speaking at the Asia Pacific Security Conference 2004 here Feb. 23, Wang said that because of its cooperation with the rest of the world on terrorist threats, “China has been removed, at least temporarily, from America’s enemy list.”

Colin Powell, the U.S. secretary of state, and other American officials have described U.S.-China relations “as being in the best shape since the 1970s,” Wang said.

While the United States, most of Europe and Russia are focused on religious extremism from the greater Middle East, stretching from Morocco to Kashmir, China is equally concerned about such a threat in some of its provinces where religious minorities live, Wang said during the day’s second panel discussion, “Strategic Trends in the Asia Pacific.”

Despite the emergence of non-traditional threats like terrorism, traditional security threats still loom large on China’s horizon, Wang said.

The possibility of instability in North Korea, continuing political freedoms in Taiwan, economic and military competition with Japan, and managing a smoother relationship with the United States remain China’s top priorities, Wang said.

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