Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, a top China policymaker, said it was time to move beyond the three-decade-old US policy of simply encouraging Beijing's integration into the global community.

"We now need to encourage China to become a responsible stakeholder in the international system," Zoellick said in remarks prepared for delivery at a dinner of the National Committee on US-China Relations.

"We hope to intensify work with a China that not only adjusts to the international rules developed over the last century, but also joins us and others in addressing the challenges of the new century."

The comments reflected the evolving thinking of President George W. Bush's administration, which initially considered China a "strategic competitor" but has since put more emphasis on engaging the Asian Communist giant.

Zoellick, Washington's point man in a new strategic dialogue opened with Beijing, acknowledged there was a "cauldron of anxiety" within the United States over China's increasing military and economic clout.

"Uncertainties about how China will use its power will lead the United States - and others as well - to hedge relations with China," he said. "Many countries hope China will pursue a "peaceful rise," but none will bet their future on it."

The Pentagon has expressed concern about the rapid buildup and modernization of the Chinese armed forces and Beijing's lack of transparency about its defense budget, intentions, doctrines and exercises, he said.

A US business community that once saw only opportunity in the world's most populous country is now worried about Chinese competition, market-controlling policies, rampant piracy and currency manipulation.

Zoellick said China's ties with unnamed "troublesome states" were suspect, and he accused Beijing of acting as if it could lock up energy supplies around the world instead of working with others to develop diverse sources.

"The United States will not be able to sustain an open international economic system - or domestic support for such a system - without greater cooperation from China," the number two State Department official said.

Zoellick praised China's "constructive role" in helping to negotiate an agreement with North Korea this week aimed at shutting down Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

But he said Beijing's stand on Iran's nuclear activities "will reveal the seriousness of China's commitment to non-proliferation." The Chinese have balked at a US push to haul Tehran before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

The US official again urged China to resolve its differences with Taiwan peacefully and to work with other Asian states to forge regional security ties.

"The United States respects China's interests in the region, and recognizes the useful role of multilateral diplomacy in Asia," he said. "But concerns will grow if China seeks to maneuver toward a predominance of power."

Zoellick, who was in Beijing last month for talks with senior Chinese officials, insisted that the US drive to promote democratic reforms in China would not dim chances for building better ties over the long term.

"Relationships built on shared interests and values are deep and lasting," he said. "We can cooperate with the emerging China of today, even as we work for the democratic China of tomorrow."

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