China does not gain from US decline and does not deserve to be blamed
It is not accurate to simply describe the Sino-US relationship using only terms like competitive cooperation or mutual benefit. The essential relationship between China and the US can be described as the relationship between rising and counter-rising, or the relationship between counter-containing and containing. Knowing the deeprooted reasons for the frictions and disputes between the two countries will be of practical significance in grasping the future development trends in the bilateral economic relationship and properly formulating policies.
In the current global economic pattern, the US is the largest economy as well as a declining one. Because of its ignorance regarding governmental interference, wealth in this country is monopolized by a small group of people. To deal with the intensifying contradictions between public and individual interests, the US government had no choice but to maintain the economy by increasing its debt.
After the financial crisis in 2008, some US scholars and politicians attributed their economic unbalance to China, and said that China’s cheap products and undervalued yuan were the causes for the large scale of US imports and consumer debt. In fact, it’s US own institutions and policies that put the US in debt.
China has carried out reform and opening-up for over 30 years and entered the global market complying with the in- ternational standards. China’s accomplishment has neither undermined the US nor violated international rules, but it has been contained by the US, which seriously hurts China’s interests and the principle of mutual trust between the two countries.
Currently, both China and the US face the onerous task of economic structural adjustment. However, the characteristics and reasons for the unbalanced economic structure of China and the US are different. Hence, China and the US’ focal points and methods of their adjustments should also be different.
Viewing the situation from the economic relationship between the two countries, the influence of the two countries’ economic structural adjust- ments is mutually contradictory instead of mutually beneficial. China has promoted the transformation of its development model from export- and investment-oriented to consumer-oriented.
With the increases in China’s spending on the domestic market, China’s money in the US has decreased, which could affect US conditions for attracting foreign investments. The dollar could become weaker, interest rates could increase, inflation could be worse and the US economy could fall into a more serious crisis.
The US economic structural adjustment has not made any breakthrough progress yet. Neither the quantitative easing policy nor the technological innovation in shale gas exploitation, biotechnology and automobiles has turned the tide of the US economy.
China cannot gain opportunities or benefits from a US decline, and the Chinese economic structural adjustment cannot save the US, instead, it only leads to more pressure and containment from the US.
China expects mutual trust and a win-win situation. China will not take the initiative to stir up conflicts, but it is not afraid of controversy and pressures. Ultimately the top priority for China is to take its own road.