Fear Is Not the Key

By Sun Chenghao

There has been more anti-China rhetoric from the Trump administration of late with President Donald Trump attacking Chinese trade and economic practices in his speech to the UN General Assembly on September 25 and Vice President Michael Pence delivering an all-out assault in his speech at Hudson Institute on October 4. All of this made U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos China visit on October 8 critical.

The bilateral relationship has been facing turbulence since the White House released the National Security Strategy （NSS） in December 2017 and the Department of Defense came up with the National Defense Strategy this January， labeling China a “revisionist power” and “strategic competitor，”thus setting the tone for the Trump administrations China policy.

Negative narrative

Washington seems to be using a negative narrative to describe the bilateral relationship， regarding the United States China strategy in the past 40 years， namely changing China by engagement， as having failed， based on the three major misperceptions of China. The United States believes China is dismissing U.S. power， discrediting U.S. democracy and dismantling the U.S.-led international order.

Although the NSS report states that competition will not necessarily lead to confrontation， and Pence too stressed it in his speech， the American anxiety and eagerness to compete with China are bound to create more misunderstanding and mistrust between the two countries.

The United States has several misperceptions about competition. Firstly， it thinks the competition with China will be limited to the economic fi eld. Secondly， it is not targeting China alone， but is competing with other countries as well， including its allies. Finally， by competing with China， Trump is correcting his predecessors wrong policies.

However， if we look at U.S. trade policies toward China， they have already crossed the stage of addressing trade defi -cits or economic problems. Washington has groundless accusations about Chinas lack of intellectual property protection and market openness and technology transfer needs， demanding major concessions in those areas as a precondition for holding trade talks with China.

In other words， the trade conflict triggered by the United States is not for turning trade numbers， but to change Chinas pace of reform and opening up， or alter Chinas economic development mode. It means the United States is using its economic strength to interfere in Chinas domestic policies.

Moreover， the United States is not really competing with its allies but is coercing them to economically isolate China if that becomes necessary in the future. The new United Sates-Mexico-Canada Agreement， the renegotiation that could replace the North American Free Trade Agreement， is a good example. It states that if one partner enters into a free trade agreement with a “non-market economy，” the others are entitled to withdraw from the deal with six months notice. The language is widely seen as referring to China since the United States has long refused to recognize China as a market economy.

It is also expected that the United States will continue to seek allies to form a common front against China by adding this clause in the possible free trade agreements with Japan and the European Union. This kind of so-called competition will lead to economic confrontation between the United States and China.

The trade conflict has already spilled over to other areas in China-U.S. relations. On the security front， the United States has been constantly undermining Chinas interests and interfering in Chinas domestic politics. The Taiwan Travel Act， signed by Trump in March， promotes “high-level diplomatic exchanges” between the United States and Chinas Taiwan Province； and on September 24， the United States announced new arms sales to Taiwan valued at $330 million.

Soon after the arms sale announcement， a U.S. guided-missile destroyer patrolled the South China Sea， once again challenging Chinas interests in the area. Under such circumstances， military-tomilitary relations between China and the United States faltered， resulting in U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattiss visit to China being canceled.

Even educational and cultural exchanges， which should be the foundation of China-U.S. relations， have been politicized by the United States on the argument that China is wielding its “sharp power”to influence or infiltrate U.S. open society and the independence of the U.S. education system. The negative narrative in this field has already led to deplorable consequences. Some members of Congress are urging U.S. universities to shut down the Confucius Institutes they host and there are visa restrictions for Chinese graduate students wishing to study aviation， robotics and advanced manufacturing in the United States.

To make matters worse， the Trump administration is trying to “domesticalize”the China-U.S. relationship by demonizing Chinas role in U.S. domestic politics. After Trumps groundless allegation of Chinese interference in U.S. elections， Pence broadened the attack， accusing China of meddling in U.S. politics without any solid evidence.

Campaign tactic

For Trump， bashing China has become a political asset for the mid-term elections and his next presidential election in 2020. If Trump loses， China will become a scapegoat. This campaign tactic is both ridiculous and dangerous， since it will sacrifi ce basic political trust between the two countries.

China understands that Trump is eager to make America great again and hopes to nurture a constructive relationship with a prosperous and responsible United States.

The United States lacks experience to deal with an emerging China， a country that is neither the Soviet Union during the Cold War nor Japan in the 1980s. China itself has never experienced such a complex situation before. However， seizing China as a target will not make America great again. The two countries should continue engaging with each other and find new ways to coexist， seeking a way forward in the new era.

By continuing the engagement， like Pompeos visit， and using more positive narratives to defi ne China-U.S. relations will avert further misunderstandings and fears.

In his book The History of the Peloponnesian War， ancient Athenian historian Thucydides identifi es fear as one of the main causes of war. Confi dence brings peace and cooperation， while fear brings confl ict and war. Both China and the United States would fi nd only a self-fulfi lling prophecy if the bilateral relationship is defi ned by a negative narrative without any positive energy.