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US-China relations
OpinionComment
Wu Shicun
Wu Shicun

Opinion | China and the US must find ways to get along, no matter how fierce the competition

  • Many in the West refuse to accept, or are uncomfortable with, the rise of a nation that does not share the same values
  • China’s military development is one cause of US unease, yet it is necessary to help safeguard maritime security and combat terrorism

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Wu Shicun

Since the implementation of its “reform and opening up”, China has overseen a spectacular rise in the living standards of its citizens.

This was initially overlooked by the United States. But as Chinese military power and economic strength increased, and especially after the US suffered a major setback in the form of the 2008 financial crisis, it could no longer put China on the policy back burner.

In this context, the US proposed the “pivot to Asia” in 2011 which evolved into the Indo-Pacific strategy in 2017. Both the Asia-Pacific strategy and the Indo-Pacific strategy, which are essentially aimed at China, fit into America’s broader strategy to contain China’s development.

The US and some European countries are trying to redefine their relationship with China along ideological lines. This is because the West does not accept, or remains uncomfortable with, the rise of a non-Western country.

“The West” here refers to the US and its allies and partners. It is not, in essence, a historical or ethnically based grouping of nations. It is an ideological labelling, as it includes countries such as Japan. Collectively, they view China as the ideological “other” and seek to diminish it to prove that their own values are superior.

04:14

Xi Jinping leads celebrations marking centenary of China’s ruling Communist Party

Xi Jinping leads celebrations marking centenary of China’s ruling Communist Party
Part of the justification the US provides for its pivot to Asia is China’s military rise, which is actually just an improvement of military capacity, in tandem with a growing economy and country.
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