Interview: "Excessive anxiety" about China in U.S. unnecessary, says scholar

SINGAPORE, May 19 (Xinhua) -- There is an "excessive anxiety" element about China with some politicians in the United States, said Yu Hong, a senior research fellow of the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore.

"Such Sinophobia is unnecessary and undesirable," Yu said.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Yu said that an objective and rational understanding of China is conducive to building an international order featuring win-win cooperation.

In his view, the reason for the Sinophobia sentiment in the United States is that some Americans cannot tolerate or accept that other countries might surpass the United States in terms of economic strength or comprehensive national strength.

Moreover, some in the United States deem that China, as an emerging power, will challenge the global leadership of the United States as the sole superpower. In addition, the pace of China's economic development has also triggered unease among some Americans, according to Yu.

As for China's foreign policy, Yu noted, China adheres to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and focuses on safeguarding national sovereignty and security.

Domestically, China hopes to achieve national rejuvenation through its own growth to enable a better life for its people, he said.

Therefore, China has no intention of displacing the United States as the leader of the world or leading an anti-American alliance, according to Yu.

Yu stressed that although China and the United States have different ideologies, they have extensive economic and trade ties and share common interests in many international affairs, "which determines that the two sides can and must cooperate."

Apart from the field of public health, China and the United States can cooperate on a variety of international issues, including promoting global economic recovery and fighting terrorism, according to Yu.

The United States needs to realize that on many international issues, "it will be impossible to solve them without China's participation and cooperation," Yu said.

"In the future, China and the United States can cooperate in competition, or they can compete in cooperation, but confrontation and conflict should not be an option for the development of bilateral relations," he added.