Chinaphobia, a persecutory delusion

Against the backdrop of grand changes in international situation, the United States, overwhelmed by a rising anti-China sentiment, has been overstating China's strength. Its fake fear that China will "dominate the world" has even become the foundation of Washington's hawkish policies toward China.

Chinaphobia, however, is a persecutory delusion in essence that will only lead to serious consequences.

In history, Chinaphobia or the "yellow peril" rhetoric, derived from racism and took root in the United States in the 19th century. Its negative influence on relations between the East and the West has been reinforced by mass media, and lasts till today.

Washington has been bent on creating an opponent by concocting phobia and then suppressing it. Japanophobia is an example. In the 1980s, Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) was close to 70 percent of the US GDP. Fearing Japan's economic strength, the United States signed the Plaza Accord with Japan, and the latter was forced to appreciate the Japanese yen, which led to the bubble burst of its economy. As a result, Japan suffered the two Lost Decades.

In recent years, China's rapid development might get on the nerves of some Western countries, especially the United States. As the world's sole superpower, it cannot accept China's peaceful rise, and believes that this seriously threatens the global interests of the United States and challenges its world hegemony.

Therefore, some anti-China forces come together to form a "small clique," hype up the allegation of "China threat" and concoct a new version of Chinaphobia in order to isolate and contain China. But they are wrong.

Chinaphobia is merely a groundless delusion, and there are four reasons. First, in terms of overall strength, a big gap still exists between China and the United States. The United States remains the top world economy. China's per capita income is only one sixth of that of the United States. Besides, the United States is way ahead of China in many fields such as military, scientific and technological innovation.

Those who believe that "China will dominate the world" are exaggerating their fears by simply looking at the growth of China's overall economic size. But a country's geopolitical power is not measured merely by its size. As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying once argued, "China is big, but its size has nothing to do with threat. A giant panda is big, but is it more dangerous than a bald eagle?"

Second, Washington has known too little about China's history and the Chinese culture. Peace is the pursuit of the Chinese people. The Chinese culture advocates benevolence, righteousness, harmony, honesty and responsibility. These core values have kept the Chinese civilization alive for 5,000 years.

The ultimate goal of China's development is not to replace or defeat anyone. As Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State, has said, Beijing is not "determined to achieve a world domination," but rather "they're trying to develop the maximum capability of which their society is able."

Third, China has no intention of forming a global alliance against the United States. China shoulders its due responsibility in world affairs. It has never launched a war, interfered in other countries' internal affairs, or occupied any territory of other countries. It never formed a clique to threaten or impose sanctions on other countries either. From policies to actions, China has been contributing to world stability, solidarity and prosperity. Its Belt and Road Initiative is a clear proof.

Fourth, China does not seek an ideological confrontation with the United States. China respects the right of people of all countries to independently choose their development paths. China does not export political systems or models, nor create any ideological bloc.

On the list of China's top 10 trading partners, eight are the United States and its allies. In many developing countries, China has helped local people build roads, schools and hospitals, but it has never attached any political preconditions of picking sides to these aid projects.

China, as it has repeatedly declared, will follow the path of peaceful development and will coexist peacefully with other countries in the world. What it seeks is win-win cooperation rather than world hegemony.

Then what consequences will this delusion of Chinaphobia bring? The intention of containing China will only hurt the United States itself in the end. Joseph Nye, a distinguished US political scientist, once warned that exaggerating fears would create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Clamoring for "Chinaphobia" has three major negative impacts on the United States. First, excessive attention on China will distract Washington from its own tasks. Second, it makes the topic of China a tool for politicians to attack their opponents' weakness, which will aggravate domestic political struggle. Third, the divides between the United States and its allies will be widened.

Thomas J. Christensen, a professor from Columbia University, said if Washington unilaterally adopts an anachronistic Cold War stance toward China, the United States will alienate its allies, as "most US allies and partners do not view China as an existential threat to their own regimes' survival."

Chinaphobia is a dangerous illness, but it is not incurable. The prescription is to abandon the zero-sum Cold War mentality, uphold equality and mutual respect, and embrace openness and inclusiveness for mutual benefits and win-win results. Breaking this mindset leads to a broad prospect, while clinging to it without taking any remedial measures is set to incur endless harm.