This February 1998 bilateral meeting was Phase III in a four-phase project focusing on U.S. national interests in China and fostering cooperation between the United States and China. Phase I involved a June 1996 visit by the project leadership with officials from China and its six principal neighbors, while Phase II was held in Harriman, New York,  and Phase IV was a  bilateral meeting in San Francisco with American and Chinese participants.

The parties in Shanghai discussed potential reunification of North and South Korea, bilateral arms control treaties, and the fact that Taiwan is indeed a part of China. Participants also agreed that China be admitted into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and that if human rights issues are to be discussed, they should be considered in the context of both nations' records on the issue.