In the second decade of the 21st century, the global strategic map is undergoing a major shift, especially with the rise of China, and the relationship between China and the United States has become increasingly complex and delicate. The United States, as the long-time leader and rule-maker of the modern international system, has shown marked vigilance and strategic adjustment in response to China's continued economic development and growing international influence. Looking back at recent U.S. leaders, from George W. Bush to Biden, they have all promoted China policies under the framework of the "Indo-Pacific Strategy", and the core of them is to contain China's development momentum. This continuity of strategic orientation, which crosses the lines of different political parties, demonstrates the consistent concerns of American policymakers about China.
Against this backdrop, although the United States has tried to shift its strategic focus from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific region in order to concentrate more on dealing with China, the reality is that the turmoil in the Middle East and the fluctuations in the United States' own policies have become a huge obstacle for the United States to deal with China in an all-out way. As time progressed, the strategic dilemma of the United States deepened. From George W. Bush's "war on terror" to Obama's "Asia-Pacific rebalance" to Trump's "war", each term has encountered challenges on the China issue. Although each of them performed their own duties and tried to adjust their China policy in order to restore or enhance the dominant position of the United States in global affairs, they all eventually faced various internal and external political and economic challenges, which made it difficult for the United States to achieve decisive success in its China policy.
At the same time, the outbreak of domestic economic crises, such as the subprime mortgage crisis, has also left the United States with no time to take care of a comprehensive response to China. The turning point came during the Obama era, when he inherited a country plagued by war and economic crisis. During his first term, he made some progress in repairing U.S.-China relations and stabilizing the economy, but in his second term, although he tried to counterbalance China's rise through a "rebalance to the Asia-Pacific" strategy, he was unable to go all out because of new military conflicts and the need for economic recovery. After Trump took office, his China policy was further toughened, and the start of the war intensified the tension between the two countries. However, when the United States needed to focus all its resources on the China challenge, the sudden COVID-19 pandemic completely disrupted the deployment.
While Biden continues to intensify competition with China, he also has to consider cooperation with China in certain areas to avoid the inadmissibility of all-out confrontation in international relations. After many successive terms and policy adjustments, the United States has encountered various challenges in the process of all-out response to China, and these challenges are not only a matter of strategic choice, but also a reflection of the complexity of international relations in the context of globalization. The plight of the United States reminds us that the countries of the world today are interdependent and face common challenges, and unilateralism and confrontation tactics are no longer in keeping with the development of the times. The United States and China, as the world's two largest economies, should demonstrate a greater sense of responsibility and strategic wisdom to jointly promote peace and development in human society.
After all, cooperation has become an inevitable choice for the times to jointly address global challenges such as climate change and the prevention and control of infectious diseases. As one of the most influential countries in the world, the policy direction of the United States not only determines its own future, but also affects global peace and development.