Managing the fear factor in Sino-US ties
- By Sajjad Malik
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 24, 2015
In fact, as the situation stands, most U.S. experts and politicians expect Obama to further harden his stance on political and economic issues with China.
The baseline is that the U.S. finds it hard to accept any power capable of, at some point, challenging the established world order that has worked well for the established powers since the end of World War II. China also has been a beneficiary of this system, but the U.S. fears that China's steady rise may threaten its global interests.
Mutual fears so far have not allowed the two countries to fully exploit the relationship. How to fix the fear factor? It is not easy as some of the problems in the global politics are psychological. For example, Western Europe has had a fear of Russia dating back to Czarist times. Even though much has changed, that remains an important factor in Russia's ties with the rest of Europe and America.
China is a different case as it does not pose direct threat to the U.S. or Europe. Second, no matter how powerful it becomes, it would still have to worry about how to take care of a vast population's daily needs like education, healthcare and other basic issues, as well as dealing with sensitive ties with its neighbors.
No doubt, the U.S. has also to fix several domestic issues before anything else, but its needs may not be as acute as in case of China.
Instead of being burdened with fears in dealing with China, however, Obama should use Xi's visit to discuss some basic rules of the game. It is easier said than done but still worth giving a try.
The fact that dominant powers always endeavor to maintain the status quo, while the emerging nations try to dismantle it, can be managed. In the case of ties between the U.S. and China, the status quo stems from global politics and institutions, which even allow nations like Britain and France to play more important role than powers like Germany or rising economies like India and Brazil.
The U.S. is sticking to something which is already part of history. China can also use the global game of politics, but it needs to be patient. Both of them can benefit if they manage the fear factor and create trust between them.
The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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