Source: https://www.chinadailyasia.com/article/372416#Stable-Sino-US-ties-need-of-the-hour

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Over the years, the two countries have experienced various forms of engagement, cooperation and competition, leading to evolving mutual understanding.

China’s policy toward the US has maintained a high level of stability. The goal is to build a new type of major country relationship based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. 

However, in recent years, the US government has viewed a rising China as a “threat” and primary competitor, and has implemented comprehensive containment and suppression measures against it.

Following a series of major events and issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and intense competition between China and the US, relations between the major powers have become seriously imbalanced, the global economy has suffered severe damage, and international politics have witnessed a regression.

If the relationship between China and the US continues to deteriorate and the two countries even enter a new Cold War or military conflict, it could become the final straw that overwhelms the development of globalization, and the international order would undergo the greatest chaos in decades.

Fortunately, both China and the US have recognized the enormous cost of comprehensive decoupling and military conflict, and there is no need to go down that path. Sitting down to talk, clarifying each other’s bottom line, and making concessions are responsible actions that benefit both sides and the world. 

The leaders of China and the US reaffirmed their commitments on major issues, including the Taiwan question, in San Francisco in November, and have restored institutionalized dialogues. Also, they vowed to cooperate in areas such as narcotics control and addressing climate change, successfully stabilizing bilateral relations.

However, the stabilization remains fragile. The erroneous US perception of China and its comprehensive competition strategy has not changed, and China’s opposition to US containment measures to suppress its economy will not waver. In 2024, China-US relations will be influenced by a series of factors, which will bring new challenges to managing their differences and competition.

The Taiwan question has always been the most important and sensitive area of Sino-US relations. If the US continues to interfere in China’s internal affairs and keeps going down the wrong path of “containing China with Taiwan”, China will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity and firmly maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The US will hold a presidential election this year, and China will firmly oppose the actions of some politicians who, driven by electoral needs, hype up the “China threat” and push for new measures to contain China.

Despite growing calls in the US for cease-fire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, supporting Ukraine to help it continue fighting remains the basic policy of the US and Western countries. China continues to promote a cease-fire and peace negotiations, and it also opposes US attempts to undermine China-Europe relations by exploiting the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as US efforts to provoke bloc politics and confrontations between camps.

Meanwhile, the two-state solution is the only way to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Only by establishing an independent Palestinian state can genuine peace be achieved in the Middle East. 

In the Asia-Pacific region, the US continues to sow discord between China and its neighboring countries, building a military encirclement aimed at containing China. The forward military deployment carried out by the US to win over allies, the joint military exercises and patrols around China, and close-in reconnaissance have worsened China’s security environment. 

The world is entering a new period of turbulence and transformation, and there may be an increasing number of factors that can influence and disrupt the relationship between China and the US. Recognizing the significance of maintaining stability in bilateral relations, both sides are currently investing a significant amount of effort in enhancing communication, managing differences and avoiding conflicts.

How China and the US, the world’s two largest economies, coexist in the future is of great significance. The two sides should strengthen cooperation, work together to address global challenges and promote global security and prosperity. 

The planet is big enough for both China and the US to prosper, and the success of each country represents an opportunity for the other.

The author is deputy director and a researcher at the American Studies Institute of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.