Hu's visit will show patience to the world
- Source: Global Times
- [09:46 January 15 2011]
- Comments
A popular perspective among certain US citizens seems to be that the superpower's confidence in maintaining its status is slowly being sapped by the prospect of a rising China. However, few people in the Middle Kingdom consider the fall of the US to be a given.
Mutual understanding between the two is sometimes weakened across different areas. But the upcoming visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to the US spells a golden opportunity for the two countries to air their differences.
Recently, US media once again sifted through the obstacles that Sino-US ties must face, such as the value of the yuan, protection of intellectual property rights and military transparency in China. Such a narrow perspective is woefully near-sighted when considering the entire vista of bilateral relations.
Sino-US relations include many odd speculations and questions that both powers would do well to shrug off. Unprecedented conflicts and competition are wracking the Asia-Pacific region, and the two sides are aware that there is no time to worry about the more cosmetic battles.
Using the same stereotypes about China for years, certain media sources have brought grudges back to the surface. In reality, the US is not being dwarfed by China, but by itself.
Next week's summit is set to show both peoples and the whole world that rumors of an Asia-Pacific Cold War are groundless.
Those who see relations between China and the US as mirroring those of the US with the former Soviet Union suffer from a woeful lack of historical vision.
The world is always suspicious of the patience between China and US in dealing with questions of concern. Hu's visit will showcase this patience to the people. History proves that overreaction and paranoia will only deteriorate a situation. The transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world has shocked the US in recent years, and its media have combined an existing bias with new paranoia.
What the two need most right now is mutual trust, or at least tolerance, to be able to listen to each other instead of engaging in pointless sniping.
The US should understand China's pursuit of military development but not question China's strategic intentions. For China, it should not be confused about the US preoccupation with containing China's military development.
