While the leaders of China and the United States met amicably in Beijing in mid-May, the way forward for bilateral relations is still unclear. China has consistently proposed constructive ideas to stabilize and improve relations, but before President Donald Trump's China trip, the U.S. had yet to respond in a substantial way.

Chinese President Xi Jinping explained to the U.S. that "constructive strategic stability is possible." The foundation is, of course, constructive engagement on the basis of the principles of peaceful coexistence.

(In Beijing this May, the term "strategic stability" has been repurposed. It means "predictability in competition"—Ed.)

American presidents beginning with Richard Nixon, a Republican, and later Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, sought to manage relations with China constructively, but there were obstacles such as the Taiwan question, which was exploited by hawks in the U.S. with a Cold War mentality. A major shift in Washington's foreign policy, vaguely foreshadowed during the George W. Bush administration, was fully articulated and implemented under the succeeding Barack Obama administration.

This was the "pivot to Asia" policy. The U.S. had been bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan in the Middle East, and at the same time, China was rising. Thus, the geopolitical concept was to pivot away from the quagmire in the Middle East and swing military assets to the Pacific in order to contain China. The Quad concept involved bringing Japan, India and Australia into alignment with Washington to contain China.

The first Trump administration, beginning in 2017, followed this logic but also took a more pronounced turn against China in the economic area with negative trade and technology policies. Trump also took harsh economic measures with sanctions and tariffs against other countries as well. The European economy had already been slowing. So the Trump economic warfare policies, combined with the black swan COVID-19 crisis, further hurt the world economy.

Added to this negative impact on the world economy and global development, the Israeli-American military strikes against Iran recently is very sharply and seriously impacting the international community.

The world has changed dramatically over the past quarter century. China has made great strides in its national rejuvenation objective and is now the largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity, and is also a formidable modern technological and military world power. At the same time, Russia has returned as a major world power.

The United States, however, is in relative decline economically, militarily and culturally. The greatest arguable strategic mistake in U.S. history was the failed Iraq and Afghanistan military adventure. Today, Washington's illegal war of aggression against Iran, spurred by the Israel lobby, is yet another historic strategic mistake.

This, combined with Washington's support for Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, has severely damaged America's reputation and alienated a majority of the world's population. Polling data shows that this is true in the United States itself. A majority of the American population is alienated from Washington's reckless foreign policy.

Within the context of a changing world and international situation, Washington must undertake what would be an agonizing reappraisal of its national strategy, foreign policy and military posture.

The world is moving on, and the familiar post-World War II world is fading. A new world is emerging as the international landscape changes and shifts power from the West—the U.S. and Europe—to the East and Eurasia. New international institutions and alignments are emerging.

The U.S., for the sake of its own future generations, must come to its senses and abandon the follies of empire. The national strategy of global hegemony must be ended and be replaced by a policy of peace and cooperation. Instead of a futile and reckless attempt to maintain world hegemony, Washington must scale back from its current unsustainable path. It must think in terms of a national future as a responsible republic, not as a hegemonic empire, within the world community, which desires peace and development.

With such a responsible vision in Washington, relations between the U.S. and China can not only be repaired but also flourish in a condition of constructive strategic stability.

The author is president of the Washington Institute for Peace and Development and a former senior professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. This article was first published on the China Focus website

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

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