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General urges U.S. to discard Cold War mindset
March-17-2011

"When the financial crisis spread, many investors started to sell U.S. debts. However, China bought a huge amount of U.S. debt and replaced Japan as its largest debt holder. But what did we get in return?"

As the U.S. started to recover from the financial crisis, it continued to sell arms to Taiwan, President Obama met with the Dalai Lama, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that 'the U.S. has national interest…in the South China Sea.' Meanwhile, the U.S. continued to press China on issues like the yuan appreciation and human rights," Jin said.

Despite the U.S. military's apparent containment strategy, Jin said, China's strong economic ties and friendly exchanges with other Asian countries prevent it from being enclosed.

"Trade volume between China and Japan reached $300 billion U.S. dollars; China-South Korean trade reached $200 billion U.S. dollars; and trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached $200 billion U.S. dollars. With such large interdependences it is impossible for the U.S. to build a military circle around China," Jin said.

Despite political differences, Sino-U.S. relations would advance due to the countries' common economic interests. However, Jin warned that further U.S. projections of military might near China's borders had the potential to harm the two countries' special relationship.

"China has been very calm in handling ties with the United States; it is the U.S. that needs to make some adjustment in its policies towards China. This hostile U.S. attitude might finally turn China from a potential opponent into a real opponent," Jin said.

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