The US in the eyes of China in 2012
- By Shen Dingli
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E-mail China.org.cn, February 7, 2012
On the dilemma between supporting U.S. capital making profit overseas and protecting domestic jobs for its citizens, the two U.S. political parties are generally inclined to the former. The best thing they can do to comfort the unemployed workers is taking symbolic measures.
The U.S. government is relentlessly mercenary, and that has translated to much short-term gain. As the world's largest economy, the U.S. has not consumed the biggest share of the world's resources; however, it has left the enormous environmental burden from its economic development to other countries while seizing more profit.
However, the shortsightedness of the U.S. economic policymakers has helped to nurture their competitors to develop at full speed. In the past decade, China's economy grew at a pace ten times that of the U.S.; China's economy increased from 10 percent that of the U.S. to 40 percent, and its official military spending tripled from 5 percent that of the U.S. to almost 15 percent. China's rapid development could not have been possible without the investment, technology transfer and the open markets of the Western countries, yet this growth is increasingly becoming the anxiety of the United States.
With more emerging markets including China taking part in globalization, the balance of power between international actors become stabilized. But this kind of equality is a mirage, because the current political, economic and financial rules are almost all made by Western countries. China has to keep a "normal diplomatic relationship" with the U.S. though the latter continues to sell arms to Taiwan. Meanwhile, the U.S. has to accept a rapidly developing China. These are the struggles between the two countries' short-term and long-term goals.
However, we should recognize that the United States is still a hegemonic world superpower.
Firstly, the U.S.'s political system has the capability of correcting errors. U.S. leaders do not have tenure, so that obvious political errors, such as the Iraq War, can be corrected in no longer than ten years.
Secondly, the American value is capable of rallying its allies in the world today, whereas the values and political system of China at this stage have a hard time becoming a model for other international powers.
Last but not the least, the U.S.'s technological innovation and education is still the most advanced. And the U.S. military force remains unrivalled in the world.
China and the U.S. have an extremely complex relationship. The two countries hold a delicate waltz, moving constantly in accordance to each other, their power balance and their intentions.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn For more information please visit http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/shendingli.htm
This article was first published in Chinese and translated by Lin Liyao.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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