A heated debate on how the United States should react to China's rise is going on in the United States. The main dispute is whether the long-established approach to China should be abandoned.
In the past 30 years, the United States has worked hard to ensure China adheres to the international order established by Western countries. The aim was to make China a follower of existing international rules, a defender of existing international order and a partner of the United States. Washington wanted to keep in touch with Beijing so as to steer China's development. Meanwhile, China has worked hard to reform itself and open up to the world. It wanted to be integrated into the international community and hoped to develop its economy amid economic globalization.
The two countries may differ in strategy, but they share common interests. Therefore, despite all the arguments, sensitive issues and even crises, they continue to promote the sound development of bilateral ties.
Although China still lags far behind the United States, the gap between the two countries has been narrowing as a result of China's reform and opening up during the past 30 years. In comparison, over the past few decades, the United States has suffered from long, drawn-out anti-terrorism wars, contagious economic crises, increasingly diversified global issues and the fast development of emerging economies. Thusly, the country has felt its leading position in the world being somewhat undermined.
The United States has realized that it didn't change China into the kind of country it had planned. Instead, China possesses the potential of becoming its "perfect enemy" in the political, economic and military fields and has the power to challenge existing international order. This has made some people begin to worry about the future of China-U.S. relations.
Considering the current debate in the United States, many scholars and political elites believe that the disputes between the two countries are growing, and that there are no immediate solutions to meet the needs of both sides. They believe that Washington should abandon its current approach to China, that the China-U.S. relationship is about to change, and that China and the United States may see a "Thucydides trap," a phenomenon in which a rising power provokes fear in the established power and causes danger to both parties.
In the debate, too much emphasis is put on differences and disputes. These people only see what hasn't been done, but fail to see what has been achieved. Today, the total trade volume between China and the United States has surpassed US$550 billion, nearly 100 intergovernmental communication channels have been established, and about 5 million people are travelling between the two countries every year. In the political and economic fields, China and the United States have become interdependent. With increasing cooperation on regional and global issues, the two countries are sharing more common interests and challenges.
If scholars and political elites only focus on the negative side of things, they may overreact to China's diplomatic policies and activities, underestimate the necessity and feasibility of maintaining stable bilateral ties, and overlook the two countries' capability of managing differences and solving disputes. If they hold these views, they may easily come to the conclusion that there is no future between the two countries.
Actually, similar debates occurred several times during the past 30 years in the United States. After every debate, the China-U.S. relationship would return to normal, and the two countries would see even deeper and closer cooperation. But this time, we must not wait to see the debate's influence on Washington. There will be serious consequences if we do nothing about it.
It's true that China's rise has had influences on the United States, its neighboring countries and the existing international order. It is also true that some differences and disputes between China and the United States need to be solved immediately. But we should keep in mind that the foundation of China-US relationship is solid. We should have a clear understanding on the differences and disputes between the two countries, seek constructive solutions to the problems, reduce misunderstandings between each other through existing communication mechanisms, and expand cooperation on bilateral, regional and global issues.
What China has achieved over the past 30 years should be attributed to the existing international order, so changing the order is against its interests. However, the existing international order was established after WWII, and it indeed needs adjustment to keep up with the times. The United States should be tolerant and open to changes. In this way, the two countries will see sound interactions in the future.