It would be very unfortunate and even disastrous for the United States to give a free rein to its strategic anxiety towards China's fast development, former Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said.
He made the remarks when delivering a key note address titled "How the China-U.S. Relationship Will Shape the Emerging World Order" at the Tishman Hall of New York University (NYU) on Monday evening.
The event, organized by NYU's Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Undergraduate Academic Affairs, was followed by a conversation with Clark T. Randt, who served as U.S. ambassador to China from 2001 to 2009, and Jeffrey Lehman, vice chancellor of NYU Shanghai.
"It would be very unfortunate and even disastrous to give a free rein to that anxiety and formulate policies and strategies solely based on countering China or balancing China under the guidance of the 'offensive realism,'" said He, referring to the concept advocated by professor Mershimer of Chicago University in his book titled "The Tragedy of Great Power politics."
To avoid the so-called "The Thucydides Trap" between the United States and China, He suggested, a "new security arrangement" based on the new concept of "common and cooperative security" rather than the one based on "the U.S.-centered military alliances" will have to "be put in place in Asia-Pacific, especially in East Asia, better sooner that later."
The former diplomat also made three other recommendations for the two countries to handle "the complex and multifaceted relationship."
"One, to continue cooperation in building a vibrant, resilient and mutually beneficial economic relationship with an ever bigger cake," he said, adding that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative provides an ideal platform for expanded cooperation between the two countries.
Global governance should become a platform for greater cooperation and coordination by China and the United States to provide global and regional commons to the world, he noted.
"In this connection, better and more in-depth consultation is necessary as had been the case between China and the U.S. during the financial crisis," he added. "The U.S. should think twice before acting on a unilateral withdrawal from its international commitments."
The two countries should also continue cooperation in building a community of nations with a shared destiny, he said, using the "China-U.S. plus" model to establish new bilateral and international relations on the basis of mutual benefits and win-win opportunities through cooperation. It can also promote a better democratization of international relations.
"It is of utmost importance to rise above ideological divide and bias towards different political systems from its own to lay the foundation for cooperation in all fields," he said.
"If that divide and the deep-rooted bias linger on, all our efforts at greater and better cooperation will be in vain and our endeavors to shape the emerging world order will also be futile," he added.
