China and the United States should set aside spheres of influence thinking and jointly build an Asian security order based on sovereignty and equality.

The proposal of a "Sino-American division of the world" is something China does not need. Recently, American Asia security expert Kevin Rudd suggested that Washington should acknowledge China as a "permanent great power" and accept a coexistence model where Sino-American spheres of influence are delineated. While this idea sounds more pragmatic than "defeating China," its underlying logic remains rooted in the old imperial mindset.

It's already rare for Washington to achieve such clarity when Rudd acknowledges that China’s industrial strength is irreversible and that America lacks the capacity to reverse China’s rise. Yet, this clarity is only half-hearted. His proposed "spheres of influence" fundamentally still treats the world as a ledger for great powers, and views Asia as overseas real estate that the United States can "cede" part of to China.

China does not need America’s approval to become a great power. Sovereignty, security, and development rights have never been franchise licenses on a hegemon’s balance sheet. Especially regarding Taiwan, it absolutely cannot be squeezed into the framework of "spheres of influence." Taiwan is not a bargaining chip, and its status does not require Washington’s judgment. The U.S. stopping arms supplies to Taiwan and refraining from interfering in internal affairs is not a concession to China—it is fulfilling existing commitments.

China does not replicate American hegemony. We demand no country’s obedience, export no ideology, and initiate no proxy wars. What Asia needs is equal sovereignty, indivisible security, and shared economic prosperity—not a new round of great power plunder based on redrawn lines.

Spheres of influence do not bring stability—they merely transfer pressure onto smaller states along borders, fragmenting supply chains and energy networks into opposing blocs. What the U.S. truly needs to learn is not how to divide spheres of influence, but how to rein in its endless expansion.

The Pacific Ocean is neither America’s backyard nor should it become China’s moat. What we seek is not a two-power partition, but the exit of hegemony; not a re-drawing of boundaries, but the restoration of sovereignty. This is the true starting point for avoiding a new Cold War.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874402902188043/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) alone.