The U.S. strategy toward China has undergone many adjustments in recent years, from Trump's war and all-out confrontation to Biden's trichotomy and three-point theory, and the United States has tried to find a balance between competition, cooperation and confrontation. But will these adjustments really be effective in dealing with China's rise?Does the U.S. strategy toward China reflect U.S. self-confidence and strength, or does it expose U.S. panic and anxiety?
The change in U.S. strategy toward China is actually a reflection of the change in U.S. perception of China. Over the past few decades, the United States has always had an arrogant and prejudiced mentality, believing that China is a backward, poor, and corrupt country that cannot pose a real challenge to the United States, and can only accept American values and rules under American leadership.
The United States has also been trying to contain and suppress China's development through various means, including economic, political, military, and ideological, and to prevent China from becoming an adversary or substitute for the United States. However, this arrogant and prejudiced mentality has caused the United States to ignore China's development and changes.
Over the past 40 years and more of reform and opening up, China has made achievements that have attracted worldwide attention, not only achieving leapfrog development in the economic, scientific, technological, military, and diplomatic fields, but also showing its unique charm and advantages in governance, culture, and society.
China has not only failed to move toward Westernization and democratization as expected by the United States, but has also adhered to its own path and system, safeguarded its sovereignty and interests, and put forward its own ideas and plans. China's rise has not only broken the hegemony and unipolar order of the United States, but also provided a development model and choice that is different from that of the United States.
This gap in perception has made the United States feel extremely anxious. The United States no longer sees China as an object to be despised and controlled, but a looming threat and challenge. The United States is concerned that China's development will weaken the international status and influence of the United States, threaten the security and interests of the United States, and challenge the values and institutions of the United States.
The United States also realizes that China is not an object that can be easily changed and compromised, but an object with strong self-confidence and resilience. The United States has to face a real problem: How to get along with a China that is both competitive and cooperative?
The change in the US strategy toward China has brought tremendous impact and challenges to Sino-US relations. During the Trump era, the U.S. China policy was under the banner of "strategic competition", and the "confrontational" color was more prominent in the implementation process.
The United States not only weakens the bilateral between China and the United States through war, curbs China's industrial upgrading momentum through science and technology warfare, but also isolates China by building an alliance system. The United States has also taken a series of anti-China actions on sensitive issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, and the South China Sea, and has even exerted maximum pressure on China by "hurting 800 people and harming 1,000 itself". These moves have led to the deterioration of Sino-US relations and the international development environment.
After Biden took office, although the US China policy has been adjusted, it has not changed the tone of "strategic competition" and has not given up the means of "confrontation". The United States tries to find a balance between competition, cooperation and confrontation, but in reality it is more about competition and confrontation, supplemented by cooperation. The U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific region is to promote (regional) unity through the establishment of various clubs and volunteer alliances to compete with China.
The United States has also criticized and interfered in China in terms of human rights, democracy, and values, in an attempt to smear and isolate China in the international community. These US moves have not only not eased the tension in Sino-US relations, but have aggravated the instability of Sino-US relations.
China should adhere to its own development path and system, its own sovereignty and interests, and its own ideas and plans. China should not change its development goals and direction because of US pressure, nor should it give up its core interests and bottom line because of the US.
China should counter US accusations and interference with facts and reason, and win international respect and support with its strength and charisma. China should adhere to the concept of peaceful development and refrain from military confrontation with the United States, but it should not be afraid of military threats from the United States. China should adhere to the principle of win-win cooperation and not engage in a zero-sum game with the United States, but it should not accept unfair treatment by the United States.
China should maintain its own development momentum and confidence, maintain its strategic focus and patience, and maintain its strategic initiative and advantages. China should continue to deepen reform and opening up, enhance its comprehensive national strength and international competitiveness, enhance its innovation capabilities and core technologies, enhance its governance capabilities and social stability, and improve its rule of law system and international image.
China should continue to promote the Foreign Trade Initiative, deepen economic and trade cooperation with other countries, and strengthen solidarity and mutual assistance with developing countries. China should maintain its own openness and cooperation, actively participate in international affairs and multilateral mechanisms, promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and promote world peace and development.
China should maintain communication and dialogue with the United States, seek space for cooperation on common concerns and global issues, ease and manage differences and frictions, and avoid conflict and confrontation. China should establish and develop friendly and mutually beneficial relations with other countries and regions, expand and deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and promote and safeguard common interests and well-being.
The change in the US strategy toward China is a manifestation of the US anxiety and inadaptability to China's rise. The US strategy toward China has also affected Sino-US relations and the stability and development of the international order. China should uphold principles, maintain determination, and seek win-win results, so as to win international respect and trust through its own development and contributions, and work with the United States and other countries to build a more peaceful, stable and prosperous world.