"US-China Relations Cannot Return to Previous Track"

Hear from Li Xiangyang, Director of the Institute of Asia-Pacific and International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
② US-China confrontation will continue regardless of who wins the US presidential election

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Sunmi Park] Li Xiangyang, Director of the Asia-Pacific and International Strategy Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, evaluated that the highly anticipated conflict between the United States and China will continue even after the U.S. presidential election this November and that it has become difficult to return to previous stages.

In an interview with Asia Economy Newspaper, he said, "U.S.-China relations can no longer return to their previous trajectory," adding, "Both Democratic and Republican candidates are taking a tough stance on China before the U.S. election to gain voter support." He further explained, "With the added impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), President Donald Trump will also try to diffuse domestic political pressure by taking a hardline approach toward China."

His assessment of U.S.-China relations is somewhat pessimistic. This is because, regardless of which party wins the U.S. presidential election, the two countries’ relationship will remain confrontational without fundamental change. Although political reasons are involved, he believes that behind the U.S. attacks on China lies a fundamental intention to contain China’s rise.

Director Li stated, "The U.S. containment strategy toward China will not change over the next decade," adding, "The Trump administration is currently strengthening sanctions against China’s high-tech companies, and this policy direction is unlikely to change in the short term. The purpose of the U.S. attacks on China is to suppress China’s rise."

He argued that the cards China can use to respond to U.S. attacks are to strengthen technological innovation and expand domestic demand. He also explained that vigorously promoting the globalization process is a way to minimize the effects of U.S. sanctions and containment.

He cited "decoupling" as the worst-case scenario in U.S.-China conflicts. He added, "China will do its best to cooperate with various countries around the world in response to this," and said, "The reason China chose market opening rather than isolation is also related to this."

Regarding criticisms that the Phase One trade agreement between the U.S. and China, signed earlier this year, is not being properly implemented, he drew a line by saying, "Currently, the implementation of the agreement is relatively smooth." He attributed significance to the agreement by saying, "The U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement was a rational choice by both sides to avoid the expansion of the trade war." He noted, "The issues covered by the Phase One trade agreement are relatively simple, so the difficulty of implementing the agreement is not high. However, the possibility of decoupling means that uncertainty could greatly increase during the process of agreeing on and implementing new trade agreements, which is problematic."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.