Mutual understanding between China and US benefits the world
- By Fu Ying
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 17, 2015
Take the South China Sea issue as an example. What the U.S. is concerned about is not the disputed ownership of certain islands. It fears China will seek to expel U.S. forces from Asia. In fact, China and the U.S. have common interests in maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and maintaining free navigation in the South China Sea. China is not a country with a history of imperial expansion and does not accept the logic of power politics and spheres of influence.
Asia has maintained a stable environment and economic prosperity in the past 20 years, which is due largely to China adhering to a good-neighbor policy of equal treatment and peaceful cooperation as well as China-U.S. cooperation.
Another example is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). AIIB was initiated by China to help developing countries around it to overcome the fund bottlenecks in infrastructure construction and it accords with international rules. The U.S., however, considers it an attempt to create a new world economic order and financial system outside what it leads, and so creates difficulties.
China and the U.S. pulled together in times of financial crisis. Presently while the world still hasn't completely recovered, their cooperation is needed to cope with the new challenges.
Undeniably, the scale and speed of power conversion between China and the U.S. are exaggerated, so are their rivalry and competition. What China wants is discourse power and space that accord with its national power and interests in the existing international framework, while the U.S. fears its power will decline.
In fact, there is really no substantive strategic conflict between them. The real issue is that there is insufficient common ground in values and this needs to be dealt with.
Here are some examples. Both of them hope to remain strong, think highly of families and advocate patriotism. China also attaches great importance to the construction of democracy, although the road it is taking differs from that of the United States. There is an old saying that "all roads lead to Rome," which is true, explaining both China's vitality and US success.
Currently, China-U.S. relations are at an important debugging stage. The two countries have kept extensive contacts, with the number of air passengers traveling between them reaching 4.3 million in 2014. The great cooperation and exchanges between the two sides show that we are attracted to each other, and some misunderstandings may gradually fade away with enhanced understanding.
As the old Chinese saying goes, "Those who know both others and themselves are wise." China and the United States need to promote the close relationship by enhancing mutual understanding and exchanges. China also needs to think about how to better construct its own narratives to gain better understanding from the outside world.
All in all, a constructive China-U.S. relationship accords with the fundamental interests of the two peoples. They should not be constrained to a single linear logic in mutual cognition and strategic choices. China has proposed the idea of building "a new model of China-U.S. relationship" in order to transcend the traditional confrontational thinking and logic of hegemony. If the peoples of the two countries have a better understanding of each other and the two countries strengthen cooperation, the whole world will benefit.
Fu Ying is the chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC). She served as vice foreign minister of China from 2009 to 2013.
This article was translated by Li Jingrong based on the original unabridged version published in Chinese.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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