US must respect China's core national interests

When formulating foreign strategies in the light of their respective national interests, the leaders of China and the US need to accurately assess the situation and seize the opportunity to shape bilateral and international relations conducive to their national security and development interests.

After the normalization of Sino-US relations, former leader Deng Xiaoping decided to establish strategic cooperation between China and the US to use American capital and technology to develop China's economy, while former US presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan did so to contain the global expansion of the Soviet Union.

Such a strategic vision, that both countries act in their national interests, is still significant. Sino-US ties should be based on mutual national interests, not on fantasies or ideologies. So, the two sides should not let their respective ideologies determine bilateral ties.

To this end, the political determination and strategic will of both countries' leaders, and the pledge to not interfere in each other's internal affairs, as well as to maintain dialogue and strengthen the communication mechanism are of great importance.

In particular, direct and candid exchanges between the leaders of the two countries are extremely important, because they can reduce political interference in each other's internal and other core affairs, improve understanding and defuse crises. Given the present sorry state of China-US ties and the closing down of formal communication channels, it is all the more important that the two countries' leaders have regular, candid exchanges, discuss major bilateral issues and identify areas of cooperation to prevent tensions and conflicts, rebuild mutual trust and put bilateral relations back on track.

Second, before the Trump administration launched an all-out offensive against China, the leaders of China and the US believed the healthy development of bilateral relations was strategically important for not only the two sides but also for the rest of the world.

The strategic collaboration between China and the US during the Cold War period brought obvious geopolitical and economic benefits to both countries. And their strategic cooperation on other international issues brought stability and prosperity to the region and the world at large.

China and the US now don't have any common third-party geopolitical rival, and even some policymakers and strategists of the two countries view each other's country as the main competitor. But global problems and transnational challenges, many of them serious and demanding immediate redress, pose a real threat to human survival and sustainable development. So it is important that the leaders of both countries more closely link the development of China-US relations with global peace, security and development.

The two countries need to build a new framework for Sino-US ties that transcends bilateral differences and rivalry. And it is important that the new framework be based on the new reality of strategic competition, so that while managing differences and disputes, the two countries can cooperate on issues of common interest and solve the common bilateral and global problems.

Third, understanding, respecting and accommodating each other's core concerns is conducive to the healthy development of China-US relations. China and the US need to be sensitive to each other's core interests, carefully handle their differences on major security and development issues, and determine in advance their points of conflict, so as not to damage the foundation of mutual trust.

That means China needs to continue its efforts to improve the world order, in order to make it fairer and more equitable, and the US should continue to play a constructive leadership role in improving international relations by promoting multilateralism rules and building an open and inclusive economic landscape in the Asia-Pacific region.

If the goal of the US policy toward China is to see a "poor, war-torn and turbulent China", not a "prosperous, peaceful and stable China", then the basis for the development of Sino-US relations will no longer exist.

So the US should also respect China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its right to economic development.

Su Liuqiang, an assistant research fellow at the Institute for International Strategic Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies