Warped lens distorts healthy Sino-US relations
- Source: Global Times
- [21:47 August 16 2010]
- Comments
PD: How should China and the US carry out cooperation in the post-financial crisis era?
Zhao: As the US economy is gradually recovering, Sino-US cooperation in the post-financial crisis era will be characterized by a combination of cooperation and competition.
Economic cooperation will continue to witness in-depth development.
As for strategic competition, there will be more tests of bottom line. The US, in order to gain more interests, will be sure to change its soft diplomatic maneuvers used in the financial crisis, and turn to stronger stances.
The US will spare no effort to provoke conflicts on many issues, trying to seek more profits through exerting pressures on China. Meanwhile, the US intends to test China's strategy in this period. Through repeatedly challenging China's strategic bottom line, the US can adjust its China policies accordingly.
Yang: Sino-US cooperation has extended from the bilateral and regional level to global and institutional level.
Meanwhile, the needs for and difficulty of strategic cooperation have grown. The two countries are more aware of and have a greater willingness to coordinate on global matters, but there are still many difficulties in transferring common challenges into common interests and actions. The two sides are adopting more strategic prevention on issues like Taiwan.
Therefore, the two sides will readjust and redefine their compromises, acceptances and tolerance, and gradually form new rules for the way they interact.
PD: How should China and the US see each other?
Yuan: China regards the US as the only country that can influence China's peaceful development at every level, thus China always puts Sino-US relations on a position above all others. In order to realize modernization as soon as possible, China has long regarded US as an example and has been learning the US institutions and technologies and absorbing capital and talent.
Recently, since the balance of the two countries' strength is changing along with the transition of the international system, Chinese people's mentality is changing, too - they have become more confident and proud.
While in the US, after the 9/11 attack and the financial crisis, Americans have been less confident.
In this context, China's national strength and strategic intentions are exaggerated, and the normal demands of the Chinese people are simplified to be "China's new arrogance."
Yang: The attitudes of China and the US toward each other have multiple facets. The two firstly regard each other as partners in economy and trade fields, dealing with common security challenges, coping with endless urgent issues, and maintaining the peace and stability in the Asian-Pacific region.
Meanwhile, the two societies regard each other as examples - Americans admire the profound Chinese traditional culture, and Chinese people admire US society's creativity and tolerance.
However, the two countries also regard each other as competitors.
China maintain sharp vigilance against what it believes are US attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs and break up China under the pretext of democracy and freedom, while the US is fully alert to what it believes are China's intentions to challenge the US.
This leads to simplified and unreasonable conclusions, which result in interpreting the other's statements and actions through the worst possible lens and then reacting accordingly.
