MAJOR BARRIERS LYING AHEAD
Despite the newly found optimism, barriers and difficulties remain on the road ahead for China and the United States to build a new type of big-power relationship, experts say.
The success depends on how the two sides define the concept, Glaser said.
According to Pollack, it is now difficult to determine exactly the content of building this kind of relationship, as it is only a broad concept.
Both China and the United States face a challenge to "put meat on the bones of this concept to see how it works in practice," he told Xinhua.
Despite great improvements wintessed in bilateral ties, there remains a wide space for the two countries to fully establish strategic trust, which is needed to reduce misunderstanding and expand consensus.
Considering the differences in the two countries' political and social systems, phases of development and historical and cultural traditions, the United States sometimes got into quarrels with China over issues such as human rights, religion, and trade.
However, as more opportunities for the two countries' cooperation might emerge in the years to come, disputes could be overridden by shared interests.
On the other hand, Washington also keeps creating new barriers that hinder the efforts to increase mutual trust by hyping up the so-called "China Threat Theory."
The latest example is the hype of cyber-security generated by U.S. politicians and media, which joined a chorus attacking China for hacking U.S. computer systems to steal political, security and commercial secrets.
On the economic front, frequently politicizing trade and economic issues also increased China's dissatisfaction.
During last year's U.S. presidential elections, China became a scapegoat of U.S. domestic woes as both the Republican and Democratic parties played the China-bashing card to woo votes.
A U.S. House committee last year even proposed a ban on Chinese telecom companies from access to the U.S. market, citing unsubstantiated evidence that they will threaten the country's national security.
The Sino-U.S. military relationship is another weak link in the efforts to build a new type of relationship. "The military dialogues lag far behind" political and economic ones, Glaser noted.
Due to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, China has repeatedly suspended its military dialogues and exchanges with the United States in protest. As part of its pivot to Asia, the United States is also increasing its military presence in the Asia Pacific and enhancing military cooperation with several of China's neighbors.
"The continued difficulties in the military-to-military relationship between the United States and China continue to be of great concern," said Dan Mahaffee, an analyst at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.
Seeking a dream wedding at Beijing Wedding Expo
Feedback
RSS
