The relationship between China and the US is like the two sides of a coin.

While there seemed to be enormous tension between China and the US on the South China Sea issue, Chinese Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman Fan Changlong visited the US and engaged in productive interchanges; while many people were still directing their attention to the tiresome dispute between China and US on South China Sea, the two countries were busy preparing for the 7th U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. The fact that President Xi publicly announced the news of his state visit to the US early in February showed that this doplomatic event is recognized to be both unusual and important.

The complexity of the relationship between China and the US is very much reflected in the fact that the two countries are exchanging blows over the South China Sea, but also engaged in frequent communication and contact at the same time. Old issues between China and the US, such as Taiwan, Tibet, human rights, and religious freedom remain unsolved, and new problems like network security issues have emerged. But in the meantime, people see China and the US have been expanding their fields of cooperation, while the mechanisms between the two countries in dialogue and consultation have greatly improved.

Over several decades, the relationship between China and the US has been developing circuitously, vulnerable but resilient. The resilience of the relationship stems from a basic recognition of mutual benefits between the two governments. Cooperation leads to reciprocity while confrontation results in disaster. Based on these principles, China has proposed to build a new cooperative and win-win relationship between China and the US. During the construction of this new relationship, full use should be made of the resilience of the relationship to avoid areas of weakness causing conflict.

But one should never take this resilience for granted, since areas of weakness also play a major part in the relationship. The areas of weakness root from the capriciousness of the US. The fact that the US often capriciously damages China's core interests, and does not pay enough respect for China, chisels away at the relationship between the two countries. To improve the resilience of the relationship, both countries have to engage in greater cooperation and control divergence, and the US in particular should restrain its capriciousness. 

This article is edited and translated from 《中美关系有足够韧性》, source: People's Daily, author: Jia Xiudong