The United States and China in Power Transition - Strategic Studies ...

United States stands for the democratic principles. It
does not matter if other democracies are parliamentary
or presidential. Germany and Japan are perfect
examples. After their defeat in World War II, both nations
were under U.S. occupation. The United States
could dictate how they rebuilt their countries, but the
United States instead left them to make the one that
fit their national needs. The recent example of Iraq is
another. Again, the United States did not require Iraq
to be rebuilt like the United States.
China’s democratic change will not remove its
conflicts of interests with the United States, but it will
make those conflicts less contentious. While under the
influence of ideological difference, every conflict automatically
becomes a test of will. It is a life and death
situation. With the removal of ideological difference,
China may not become a “dear friend,” but it will not
be a condemned enemy. Russia is an example.
FLASHPOINTS IN THE U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS
Although China and the United States understand
that the two are engaged in a power transition process;
the two nations need to take careful measures
to manage this contentious relationship; as U.S. Secretary
of State Clinton put it loudly in her 6th visit to
Asia since taking office, “it is not in anyone’s interest
for the United States and China to see each other as
adversaries, [so] we are working together to chart a
positive, cooperative, and comprehensive relationship
for this new century;” 51 logically there is no reason for
China to initiate a fight over this change, and China’s
peaceful evolution will eventually help make the U.S.-
China relations more manageable. The two nations
nonetheless have contentions over what can be called
China’s “nation-building” issues.
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