Since Biden took office, many people thought that he might restore Sino-US relations to the Obama era, but he has implemented former President Trump's tough china to the end. Recently, senior US military officials issued a warning to the Biden administration. According to domestic media reports, on September 13, local time, John Haydn, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the goal of the United States should never go to war with China.
According to reports, Haydn participated in a dialogue held by the brookings Institution, a well-known think tank in the United States, on the same day, and discussed issues such as military modernization and national defense status of the United States with Michael O'Hanlun, a senior researcher at the think tank. O'Hanlun first asked Haydn: "If you look at it from the perspective of military threat, which of the two countries, China and Russia, is likely to threaten the United States?" ”
Haydn replied that the Biden administration has made it clear that both China and Russia have posed a "pressing threat" to the U.S. defense strategy, but that China should be the primary concern of the United States, both now and in the future. But that doesn't mean the U.S. should take the Russian threat lightly, which has a formidable nuclear power.
Later, O'Hanlun further asked Haydn: "How likely is it that some form of war between China and the United States will break out?" Haydn threw out the "Thucydides Trap" proposed by Graham Allison, a well-known professor at Harvard University. This argument holds that a newly rising power will inevitably challenge the existing great powers, and the existing powers will inevitably respond to this challenge, and there will be war between the two sides.
But Haydn said we don't need to worry about the Thucydides Trap. Because the United States and the Soviet Union experienced the same thing in the last century, the two great powers had the most serious conflicts at that time, and both had huge nuclear weapons. However, there was no major war between the two sides from beginning to end. Haydn explained, "Because the United States has maintained deterrence and has not touched the bottom line."
Haydn went on to point out that the goal of the United States should now be to never go to war with China or Russia when it comes to things between the great powers. Because once a nuclear war breaks out between China, the United States and Russia, it will definitely be a disaster for other countries on the planet, and it will destroy the world's economy and development, so it is necessary to ensure that this situation does not happen.
Haydn also acknowledged that China and Russia are "special" rivals, with a huge economy and that allies and partners that the United States wants to develop also need to work with China. He also deliberately emphasized: "Despite our differences, we all have a basic common goal, that is, never to go to war." Haydn suggested that the United States seek dialogue with China on this basis.
Although Haydn has been calling for no war between China and the United States, there are still some militants in the United States who have been inciting on this matter. According to domestic media reports, on September 7, local time, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman posted that the 20-year-long war in Afghanistan has lost face in the United States. History cannot be repeated, the United States cannot go back 20 years, but it can plan for the next 20 years and think about how to go to war with China.
Friedman also offered a self-assertive plan, saying that the U.S. government would form a transnational alliance against China, reach an agreement with allies, and then turn the war on terror into a war against China. Friedman also claimed that "we can never be soft on China so that our children and grandchildren will thank us in 2041."
Regarding the confrontation between China and the United States, on September 10, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that China and the United States are the largest developing countries and the largest developed countries respectively. Whether China and the United States can handle their relations well and have a bearing on the future and destiny of the world is a question of the century that the two countries must answer well. Both countries and the world will benefit from Sino-US cooperation, and both countries and the world will suffer from Sino-US confrontation.
Zhao Lijian also pointed out that Sino-US relations are not a choice question of whether to do a good job, but a mandatory question of how to do a good job. At present, the international community is facing many common problems, and China and the United States should show the overall pattern, shoulder great responsibilities, persist in looking forward, move forward, show strategic courage and political boldness, and push Sino-US relations back to the correct track of stable development as soon as possible, so as to better benefit the people of the two countries and the people of all countries in the world.
Proofreader: Ju Weiqiang