Changing dynamics in China-US ties

Editor's Note: President Xi Jinping's upcoming meeting with his US counterpart Barack Obama during the APEC conference will consolidate future Sino-US ties. Some Chinese experts aired their views on how the China-US relationship should develop. The following are excerpts from their recent speeches:

US obsession to maintain hegemony

The United States' "pivot to Asia" strategy, aimed at reviving its sagging economy after the 2008 global financial crisis, has proved to be an American fantasy to maintain hegemony. Washington's aggressive military moves across the Asia-Pacific region, to some extent, have hampered the regional economic cooperation it sought to achieve.

By hiking its defense budget to strengthen its alliance with countries such as Japan and the Philippines, which have contributed to the US-led policy to contain China, Washington has brought nothing but rivalry to the region. And its allies are turning into negative assets for the "pivot" Washington pursues in Asia.

In effect, the term "pivot" indicates the US has become a floundering power - though it can still influence the course of international affairs.

Apart from its unparalleled strength, the US hegemony during the Cold War years also rested on the support of its European and Asian allies, which helped "sandwich" the Soviet Union. It is a totally different story today for the US, as the European Union and Japan have their own agendas.

But with conflicts offsetting cooperation between Beijing and Washington, the two sides should never be foes, even if they cannot be allies. China-US relations are complicated, but their interests are intertwined. The US policy to contain China, although the White House denies that's what it is, is evident in US-backed countries raising sovereignty-related disputes with China, especially in the East China Sea and South China Sea. These should stop.

As for China, it should adopt a more active approach to diplomacy with its neighbors to show the US that it is serious about co-building a new type of major-power relationship.

Ruan Zongze, vice-president of China Institute of International Studies