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Very condensed gives the impression US and China relations are very much like treading on thin ice.
These issues reflect fundamental differences between the two countries
that aren't going to go away any time soon. Ever since the collapse of the
Soviet Union deprived them of a common enemy, there has been no
underlying, strategic imperative to bind the U.S. and China. On the
contrary, many in the U.S. defence establishment see China as a potential
threat. The U.S. and Chinese political systems, for their part, are
diametrically opposed.
So the U.S. and China, the world's biggest power and the world's biggest
emerging power, will for now have to try to stabilize their inherently volatile
relationship with patchwork. The idea is that eventually, the straws they
weave will become strong enough to support their weighty differences.
Success is not guaranteed. "There is a big danger with this approach. The
big differences will still exist," cautions Shi of the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences. "This means leaders on both sides must remain vigilant
about these differences. If they do not, and the big differences erupt, then
the situation will be even worse than before." |
