Dialogue with Yang Danzhi

• Source: Global Times
• [15:36 November 12 2009]
• Comments

Global Times: The overall gap between China and the US is getting smaller. Do you think the two countries will have more strategic conflicts than strategic cooperation? Do you think the two countries will create a new mode that will constrain conflicts effectively?

Yang: There will be a long journey for China to catch up with US. To be a super power, upgrading the strength has to be comprehensive upgrading including political, economy and military which can hardly attain in a short time. Though the gap is smaller, the bilateral relations could be either cooperation or confliction which can be varied in different fields. For the long run, to maintain regional agenda and international order, China and US will inevitably have more conflicts. Western countries led by US want to draw China into their system and hope China could act in accordance with their intention and purpose. But as a non-western rising country, China, in the process of integrating into the system, will definitely have a constructive influence and China’s national interest could not be exactly as the western countries.