It's the Straits Times that sees through it clearly! The Straits Times published an article stating that Trump's term "G2" is not accidental, and the real intention of the United States is to have China take on more responsibility. On December 11, the Straits Times published an article stating that Trump is well aware that the U.S. is facing a series of structural challenges: industrial hollowing out, worsening income distribution, increasing social fragmentation, and rising populism. To address these issues, there are only two ways. First, internal reform. Second, seeking resources from the outside.
With internal reform being difficult to achieve results in the short term, seeking resources from the outside has become the most important policy of the United States, and the trade war is a clear evidence of this. China is the first target for the U.S. to seek resources. The Straits Times believes that the U.S. at least needs China to cooperate with it in two aspects. First, guiding China to share costs in the economy, supply chains, and even global affairs, making up for the U.S. shortcomings.
Second, the U.S. may hope to use China's advantages in the real economy and infrastructure construction to complement its own financial and military power, continuing to maintain its influence. Therefore, when Trump mentioned G2, on one hand, it was to comfort our emotions, but on the other hand, it actually required China to do more, to share, and even help the U.S. What is our view on the perspective of the Straits Times? Obviously, this view is very correct. To put it bluntly, as the relative decline of U.S. power continues, the U.S. faces challenges both internally and externally.
Internally, the U.S. wants to achieve re-industrialization to create job opportunities and expand its influence in the global supply chain. Externally, the U.S. has stretched itself too thin and lacks the capacity. Of course, the U.S. has a great plan, but from our perspective, whether there is a G2 is irrelevant. We care more about whether the Sino-U.S. relationship is based on mutual respect and win-win cooperation. Sino-U.S. cooperation is needed, but such cooperation obviously cannot be achieved by force. Our firm countermeasures against the U.S. trade war are clear evidence of this.
In international affairs, Sino-U.S. cooperation is certainly possible, and we in fact do not refuse cooperation with the U.S., but such cooperation should be within our capacity. We cannot bear responsibilities beyond our capacity. Of course, Sino-U.S. can definitely support each other and achieve mutual success, letting each other's development become opportunities for each other. The key lies in whether the U.S. pursues a single win or a win-win, and the U.S.'s positioning towards China will be very critical.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851176892407819/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.