Possible for two countries to get along if US stops being so jittery about China

There has been growing concern around the world that China and the United States might be inexorably heading toward conflict, so Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s remarks at a news conference on Thursday are being parsed for clues as to whether such a disastrous scenario can be avoided.

There is no need to dig for meaning, as Wang was very upfront in speaking to the media on the sidelines of the annual session of the country’s top legislature. He made it clear that Beijing believes that the two countries can find a way to get along, but with the caveat that it requires the US to make efforts to do so.

Stressing that China hopes for peaceful coexistence, Wang urged the US to view its relations with China rationally and objectively, as the consequences of a conflict between the two major countries would be unimaginably catastrophic for the world.

In a bid to prevent that apocalyptic scenario from happening, he said that China always strives to maintain continuity in its policy toward the US, adhering to the principles of mutual respect and win-win cooperation. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said by Washington, which, as Wang pointed out, has not only failed to fulfill all commitments it has made to Beijing, but also continually says one thing while doing another.

China is willing to strengthen dialogue and communication with the US, and believes that the two sides can certainly find a proper way to coexist peacefully. But due to its stubbornly wrong perception of China, the US gets “jittery whenever it hears the word ‘China’” and can’t think clearly. The challenge for the US, as Wang said, “comes from itself, not from China”. It would undoubtedly be better for itself and the world if the US had confidence in itself and competed fairly with China, instead of trying to check China’s development.

Of course, it takes two to improve bilateral relations. In November, the top leaders of the two nations held a meeting in San Francisco in which they reached a common understanding on promoting the stabilization and rebound of Sino-US relations and the need to return them to a healthy development track. On that basis, China is willing to strengthen dialogue and communication with the US, build more bridges of mutual understanding, eliminate misunderstandings and biases, and promote friendly exchanges among people.

The US should align its actions with the San Francisco vision of the way forward for bilateral relations. It should actively engage with China with the aim of broadening their practical cooperation. There are quite a few areas where the two sides can find firm common ground on which to rebuild trust and mutual respect. That in turn will enable them to expand their cooperation to other areas.

However, the elephant in the room that will always shake the foundations of any attempts to build better relations, is the Taiwan question. Any attempts to exploit the Taiwan question, which is an internal affair of China, will always call into question the US’ sincerity and its commitment to mending relations.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the US. The past decades have borne rich fruits for the two sides, despite the quarrels and even frictions that have occurred from time to time. The generally positive trend was maintained as the two sides made joint efforts to ensure that these disturbances did not terminate communication. It is crucial that the bigger picture continues to be kept in mind, and the US should align its deeds with its words. There are plenty of challenges confronting the world, which doesn’t need hostile relations between the world’s two largest economies adding to the already alarming mix.