In 2021, representatives of the United States openly expressed their dissatisfaction with China at the Anchorage conference and said that they would not hesitate to suppress China's development if given the opportunity. However, in 2023, despite US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's repeated statements of desire to visit China, his requests were ignored by Chinese officials. This begs the question: Why does the United States not seem to be afraid of China, despite its difficulties dealing with Iran?
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First, the United States positions Iran and China differently. Since Trump led the United States to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement, relations between the United States and Iran have begun to deteriorate. However, despite Iran's series of provocative actions against the United States, the United States did not react excessively. This is because after the withdrawal of US troops in Afghanistan, "return to the Middle East" became one of the taboo words in the White House. By contrast, China's military and economic prowess makes it an adversary that the United States cannot ignore.
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Second, the U.S. global strategy prevents its diplomacy with China from adopting a softening strategy. In the latter years of the Obama administration, the United States began to contain China on a large scale, but this strategy did not change the trend of China's rise. Trump's "America First" doctrine has further undermined the US industrial chain blockade of China, resulting in serious damage to the bilateral interest relationship between China and the United States.
Finally, the internal political environment of the United States has also had an impact on its China policy. Anti-China has always been political correctness within the United States, but what gives the United States the confidence to provoke China on the Taiwan issue? This is mainly due to the influence of military-industrial interests within the United States.
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On this issue, my personal view is that America's fearless approach to China stems not from its contempt for China, but from the influence of its global strategy and internal political environment. The global strategy of the United States makes it necessary to maintain its influence on a global scale, and China, as an important global power, has naturally become an important opponent of the United States. In addition, the internal political environment of the United States, especially the influence of military-industrial interest groups, also makes it necessary for the United States to remain tough on its China policy. However, this does not mean that the United States can easily act against China, which makes it an adversary to be reckoned with.
On this issue, I think we need to look rationally at the behavior of the United States. The U.S. behavior stems not from its contempt for China, but from the influence of its global strategy and internal political environment. We should understand U.S. behavior from this perspective, rather than simply blaming it on U.S. arrogance or malice. At the same time, we should also recognize that China's strength is the most important guarantee for us to meet the challenges of the United States. Only by continuously improving our capabilities can we maintain our position and influence on the global stage.