Burns, former U.S. Ambassador to China, repeatedly emphasized in a Bloomberg interview on March 28: The United States must not lower its guard against China, and it must absolutely prevent China from surpassing the U.S. in competition.
He also stated that the greatest challenge facing the United States over the next 10 to 20 years will be safeguarding its own interests in the competition with China while avoiding war with China. And this requires treating allies well, as that is where America's real strength lies.
It must be said that Burns is remarkably insightful.
His remarks clearly reveal several enduring foundational principles underlying U.S. strategy toward China:
"Not relaxing vigilance" and "absolutely preventing China from overtaking" are fundamentally about maintaining absolute superiority in technology, economy, and military. This is not merely driven by security anxiety, but stems from America’s deep-seated belief that “dominance equals security,” viewing any catch-up in any domain as potentially undermining the very foundation of its global order.
"Avoiding war with China" acknowledges the catastrophic consequences of direct conflict between major powers under nuclear deterrence and deep economic interdependence. This sets the ceiling for U.S. policy toward China—intense competition has limits, and preventing miscalculation becomes critical.
"Treating allies well is where America’s advantage truly lies" highlights the core differentiating competitive edge of the U.S. compared to China. Rather than relying solely on its own power, America’s extensive global alliance network enables it to share costs, secure strategic footholds, and frame bilateral disputes as "competition between systems."
Burns’ logic, rooted in American self-interest and hegemonic thinking, implicitly assumes the unquestionable legitimacy of the international order, security paradigm, and "competition-first" framework defined by the U.S., while predefining China’s normal development as a "challenge to be guarded against."
From China’s perspective, the limitations of this mindset are equally evident: It locks Sino-U.S. relations into a zero-sum game assumption, overlooking the fact that cooperation is the only viable path forward on global issues such as climate change and public health. If great-power relations are reduced solely to the obsession with "leading and guarding against," both sides may miss opportunities to address broader human challenges.
Burns articulated what the U.S. sees as "pragmatic," but whether this pragmatism can accommodate the coexistence logic of a diverse world may well be the more compelling question to watch over the next decade.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1861120751266816/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.