Recently, the meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States in the United States has aroused the attention of the whole world. China and the United States have been in constant conflict in recent years, and a meeting at this moment is like a "reconciliation letter" for this "international war" that has attracted worldwide attention.
But during the first 38 years. Relations between China and the United States were not as tense as they are now, and the relationship between the two countries was relatively close and friendly, in stark contrast to the "hot war" of recent years.
What is the difference between China and the United States and a few decades ago, and what will be the direction of Sino-US relations?
The former president bluntly analyzed Sino-US relations
The trend of international relations is often closely related to the decision-making of those in power, and former US President Barack Obama believes that everyone is familiar with it, and Sino-US relations were also in a relatively peaceful stage during his tenure.
After Obama left office, he published a book, "The Promised Land," in which he talked about his views on the relationship between the United States and other countries during his years as president.
During his tenure, he attached great importance to the development of Sino-US relations, so he also wrote a lot about China's development and expectations for Sino-US relations in the book.
Obama noted that the 38 years of peace and prosperity between China and the United States are largely due to China's focus on building the country's economy.
In addition, China believes very much in "taoguang and nurturing obscurity," and has maintained basic peace between China and the United States for more than 30 years.
Although there has not been a complete open conflict between China and the United States in the past few decades, there have been minor frictions. The attitude of the United States towards the mainland has always been in a state of contradiction.
While hoping that the United States will benefit from the peaceful relations between the two countries, it also maintains a high level of vigilance against China. So, where in China is Obama's "taoguang and obscurity" manifested?
China's economy continues to develop
Since the beginning of reform and opening up in 1978, the mainland has first made real efforts in economic development. "Putting the focus of work on economic construction" is also the most important task in the mainland's development and progress.
Therefore, the mainland has made remarkable achievements in the past 40 years. The speed of economic development can be called the highest in the world, and due to the operation of the large economic market and the hard work of countless working people, the mainland is also known as the second largest country in the world in terms of economic volume.
In terms of foreign trade, the mainland has restored the status of the International Monetary Fund and established many foreign free trade zones to help the mainland's foreign trade development.
Due to the huge economic market capacity of the mainland and the relatively cheap price cost, it has attracted a large amount of foreign investment in the mainland, and the mainland's products have also occupied a large market share in the world due to the advantages of high quality and low price.
The results of the mainland's foreign investment and construction are also very remarkable. The establishment of the "Belt and Road" forum for international cooperation and the active participation in the APEC summit can all show that the mainland has made remarkable achievements in opening up to the outside world and economic construction.
The mainland has not only made such achievements in economic construction, but has also achieved relatively proud results in social development and the people's living standards.
With the continuous improvement of its comprehensive national strength, the mainland's voice in the international status has become more and more important, and it has participated in important international conferences and talks, and has played a decisive role in various international affairs.
Indeed, as Obama said in his book, the reason why the mainland has remained safe and sound in the more than 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States is that the mainland is "burying its head in hard work" and constantly making efforts for the development of the country's comprehensive national strength.
However, the fact that China and the United States are at peace with each other is not only that China is busy with economic construction, but also that the fundamental reason is that there is no conflict or contradiction between the national interests of China and the United States in the international environment.
China and the United States have been at peace with each other, and the development of relations has been tortuous
In the past few years, although the mainland has made remarkable progress in its comprehensive national strength, it is actually not enough for the United States to develop a strong "sense of vigilance" against us.
To put it simply, the United States believes that the interests brought to their country by the mainland are greater than the threats posed to them by the mainland, so the peaceful development of relations with China is also very much in line with the requirements of US interests to a certain extent.
However, it is precisely because the mainland's economy has developed and occupied an important position in international trade that the United States does not dare to act rashly against us, and Sino-US relations are also affecting the development of Sino-US foreign trade.
Moreover, since the normalization of Sino-US relations in 1973, the development of Sino-US relations has also been influenced by another country, that is, the Soviet Union, another major country in the world at that time.
The reason for the normalization of Sino-US relations is inseparable from the Soviet Union. At that time, at the end of the "Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union," the United States and the Soviet Union were developing partners in their own camps around the world, and were trying to prevent the expansion of opposing forces.
And it just so happened that the relationship between the mainland and the Soviet Union had dropped to a freezing point at that time, and the United States also happened to need to develop its own partners, so US President Nixon extended an "olive branch" to the mainland.
Not only was the beginning of Sino-US relations related to the Soviet Union, but even the later development of relations was closely related to the Soviet Union. In the nineties of the last century, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Sino-US relations also entered a new era.
The collapse of the Soviet Union triggered a huge shock in international relations in the world, and the international environment in which the two countries competed for hegemony also collapsed in an instant. At the same time, however, the United States is in great trouble in the world, and Sino-US relations have once again ushered in the "Cold War phase."
Clinton's article on "most-favored-nation treatment for China" brought the relations between the two countries to a freezing point, and Taiwan's Lee Teng-hui's visit to the United States in 1995 also dealt another heavy blow to Sino-US relations.
However, with regard to a small number of contradictions in relations, a general peaceful situation is still maintained. U.S. and Chinese leaders look for diplomatic opportunities for reconciliation after every conflict.
China's diplomacy has always adhered to peaceful development as the general keynote, which is also an important reason why China-US relations can develop peacefully. Every time the United States provokes, China can always skillfully defuse the contradictions.
In the middle of 2000, Sino-US relations once again reached a new stage. At the APEC summit and the UN summit, the leaders of China and the United States conducted in-depth exchanges and cooperation, and established a common goal of trade normalization.
At this time, China's economy is also developing and progressing, and it has directly become a major trading country in the world, grasping the lifeblood of many international trades.
In the past 10 years, the United States has experienced a financial crisis, and in the face of the rising "new star" in the East and the crumbling economic environment at home, the United States does not dare to act rashly again, and has maintained a peaceful situation with China for a long time.
Although there has been no head-on conflict between China and the United States, there have been many small wars. During Obama's presidency, the U.S. national security strategy did shift from the Middle East to East Asia.
That is to say, the United States has strengthened its defense and surveillance of the mainland in terms of national defense, fearing that it will pose a certain degree of security threat to it because of the rise of China.
In addition, the United States is also vigorously promoting the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership, that is, pulling Asian trading system partners together in an attempt to meddle in the development of the Asian economy.
There are many uncertainties in the U.S.-China relationship. After Trump took office, the United States ushered in the Biden administration. However, the only thing that remains unchanged is the unfriendliness of the US policy toward China.
In recent years, China-US relations are still in a state of dire straits, with mutual sanctions in trade wars, and constant "unhappiness" in diplomatic relations, frantically stepping on China's thunder points.
However, Sino-US relations are an important link in the world pattern, and it can even be said that they determine the development of international relations. With the continuous improvement of China's comprehensive national strength in recent years, the provocations of foreign unfriendly forces against the mainland have also become more restrained.
epilogue
In the face of such an increasingly strong international friend, the United States no longer dares to act rashly, and although other countries' national policies are always full of hostility and vigilance toward the mainland, peaceful development has always been the mainstream of relations.
Therefore, mutual benefit and win-win results between China and the United States play an important role in the stability and prosperity of the world and the happy life of the people of China and the United States. China and the United States should also adhere to the vision of peaceful development and open up future development prospects.
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