There is a need for positive thinking

The Sino-US relationship has deteriorated rapidly, rather than letting their confrontations escalate they should seek ways to strengthen their coordination and cooperation

China-US relations have been through a spiral downward cycle, witnessing the most difficult time since the establishment of their diplomatic relations more than four decades ago. The trend of the political motivation in the United States since 2019 has been aimed at forming a consensus in the country on the issue of competition with China. The outbreak of COVID-19 has further increased the tensions, and what's worse, we may not have seen the bottom yet.

This round of tension is apparently driven on purpose by the US side, aimed at picking a fight with China on four fronts.

The first is the front of political system and values. The US strategists believe a rising China will pose a threat to the realistic interests and international standing of the US, and more importantly the credibility of its political system and its value expansion, which is a challenge of more profound implications.

The second front is the war of rhetoric. The US has labeled China as "dishonest "and "untrustworthy", attempting to undermine China's image as a successful and responsible country that has been built up over the last four decades of reform and opening-up, and to sabotage China's external environment.

The third front is competition on economic and financial security. As the pandemic has aroused concerns over supply chain security in many countries, and the US is playing up the risk of China allegedly weaponizing its industries of comparative advantages. It is trying to achieve de-sinization, via de-globalization, and through remaking rules and standards, reorganizing regional trade blocs, transforming international institutions and decoupling with China in the areas of key technologies and industries.

The fourth front of competition is in strategic and maritime security. Out of concerns about a rising Chinese navy, the US has applied increasing pressure on China at the strategic, tactical and operational levels. It is also believed that their lack of strategic trust will be difficult to repair, and uncertainty will rise in their bilateral military relations.

However, in-depth interdependence has developed between China and the US and between the two countries and the rest of the world, and China has achieved its rise in a peaceful manner. These facts, unseen in vicious competition among major countries in the past, indicates a greater complexity between China and the US. And it is worth noting that there is a large intermediate area between the competition and the hostility, albeit broad and sometimes fierce competition.

For the two major countries, the greatest challenge, or a critical decision they need to make, is whether to sustain the current global regime and resolve their differences within it, or to create two mutually independent yet connected regimes. The latter scenario would mean the end of globalization and disintegration of the current regime.

Here comes another question: Is it possible for China and the US to develop a new type of major country relationship with benign competition?

It should be noticed that the US no longer has the absolute superiority as it once had immediately after the end of the Cold War; and it does not have sufficient reasons and enough appeal to launch a new worldwide wave of comprehensive strategic containment of China. In this context, both China and the US need to re-evaluate each other by recognizing differences in values and interests as well as shared responsibilities in sustaining the current system and the overwhelming themes of the era such as cooperation and peace, stability and sustainable development.

Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election, the future direction of the bilateral relationship calls for careful and rational deliberations by decision-makers of both countries in the coming months and years.

A desirable prospect is for the two sides to have a relationship of "coopetition", meaning to formulate a new stable relationship after a period of wrestling and rational weighing of their genuine interests. It refers to limited, controllable competition and effective coordination, which would enable the two countries to maintain relatively stable development of bilateral ties on specific issues and cooperate in multiple sectors and on global issues.

Materialization of such a prospect needs both countries to make concrete and consistent efforts. Unfortunately, such an intention is rarely seen in Washington; instead, the dominating force there is working toward the opposite direction. It is very difficult for China alone to push the relations back onto the right track. What's worse, with only a few months to go before the presidential election, the US administration is unlikely to adopt a more positive attitude toward China.

Therefore, China's choice and actions will be more formative to the bilateral relations in the near future. To be specific, China needs to put forward proactive solutions that can both safeguard its own fundamental interests while taking care of the reasonable concerns of the US, and would also be in line with world peace and development.

First, China could take the initiative to have candid dialogues and discussions on issues concerning each other's interests, so as to accumulate experience and trust. The China-US phase one trade agreement signed in January 2020 was one such successful case, which, though not having met all the expectations of either, does benefit both and is good for their long-term relations.

Second, both sides need to appreciate each other's core interests, dignity of systems and values through dialogues and negotiations. They could list their respective concerns and worries, so as to work to form consensus or necessary tacit agreement on behavior boundaries and bottom lines. As to some irreconcilable security interests and differences, it is necessary to make arrangements for their management and control.

Third, China's maritime force is growing, and its intention and purpose in this regard will be an issue that the US and other traditional maritime powers will be watching and respond to. With regard to this, China should make its defense policies and objectives more transparent, and share its positions and bottom-lines in military security with others. As the two major military powers in the Asia-Pacific, China and the US should also open up effective and multi-level communication channels, and strengthen crisis management and control mechanisms to avoid misjudgment.

Fourth, China should hold high the banner of multilateralism and economic globalization as a country that works to defend, reform and improve the international order and governance system. With increasing challenges in the post-pandemic era, China should conduct more consultations and work harder with other countries to solve various problems.

China and the US can benefit from the bilateral cooperation and suffer from fighting each other. The consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries in June 2019 on building a China-US relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability, should be the fundamental guideline for conceiving and designing the specific roadmap of their ties.

The author is the chairperson of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.