Illustration: Liu Rui/Global Times

The Joe Biden administration's leadership of the US is looking increasingly like a sleepwalk. The COVID-19 origins-tracing report, written by 18 US intelligence agencies, is simply a mess. In the report, only criticism of the Chinese government remains clear. What's more, the US intelligence agencies and the administration got the situation in Afghanistan completely wrong, leading to a humiliating and debacle-style retreat. Biden claimed that US mission in Afghanistan "was accomplished." However, the horrific ISIS attack on Kabul airport that killed 13 US soldiers and more than a hundred Afghans slapped him right in the face.

In addition, the US is witnessing a rebound of epidemic with over 200,000 new cases of COVID-19 infections every day. The US' seeming prosperity, sustained by printing a large amount of cash, is facing serious risks. There has been no sign of reaching any achievement of the goals set as early as the former president Donald Trump era - attracting manufacturing back to the US and improving the quality of domestic employment. When it comes to politics, partisan fighting continues to polarize.

In short, Biden's presidency has done nothing to bring the US together. 

The "incompetence" of Biden and his team is a feeling shared by many. Republicans have been hyping it up vigorously. Moreover, many Democratic supporters are also disappointed at his performance, believing that he has failed to live up to people's expectations. But in our view, the incompetence of the ruling figure is the result of a degenerating American system, which is unable to reform itself. American leaders lack experience in solving difficult problems, and the US society is unable to form a collective force. They often deal with major issues based on their subjective wishes, which requires the support of overwhelming resources. They cannot bear twists, turns and setbacks. Any adverse change may easily lead to an endless delay of fixing issues.

The US wants to gang up with its allies, pooling resources to engage in a comprehensive strategic competition with China. The mentality has spread easily in the US, leading to an overwhelming trend. As a result, it turned into an issue of black or white, which is in line with the US gene of polarizing the politics. For instance, the Biden administration proposed an infrastructure plan in an almost planned economy way just because of China's successes in infrastructure construction. The US abandoned Afghanistan and fled the country because it needs to concentrate on its competition with China in the Western Pacific.

The US is too impetuous to implement a set of detailed withdrawal plans. And it has paid a heavy price for this. As for the fight against COVID-19, neither Trump nor Biden dared to truly face up to science. Both have been going with the flow while making up excuses and telling lies. Eventually, it is all about pursuing self-preservation both personally and in terms of factional politics.

China-US relations are rather complex. But the recent two US administrations have oversimplified the complexity of the bilateral relations. They labeled the nature of China-US ties, which is far too complicated than putting up a simple label. The US is going increasingly far away from the regular pattern in dealing with matters concerned in peripheral issues of the bilateral relationship. No wonder Washington has come a cropper. 

The US doesn't have an overwhelming advantage to fight a new cold war with China or promote a decoupling of the entire Western world from China. China's total trade volume and market size are of the same scale of magnitude as those of the US. Besides, China's economy is full of impetus and vitality for continuous development. The US cannot at all defeat and crush China by one move - simply launching a general offensive. China-US competition is destined to be a marathon. The US won the race with the Soviet Union because of the vitality of its market economy. But now, both the US potential and its organization ability to tap the potential are apparently dwarfed by those of China. What can Washington use to engage in a long-term confrontation and race with Beijing?  

The US must accept the general trend that the GDP of China, which has a population four times the US size, will gradually surpass the GDP of the US. It needs to look for effective ways and a key priority to safeguard core US national interests amid peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation with China. It seems US elites only know how to realize self-interest through confronting and defeating its opponents. But this won't work when it comes to China. China is sure to drive them into total failure and madness. 

To do its own things well is China's strategy and slogan, while to screw things up for China is those of the US. This determines that China has the bigger initiative than the US does in the struggle. As a result, the number of domestic COVID-19 infections is quickly reduced to almost zero in China while the epidemic in the US is out of control, again. China is promoting the Belt and Road Initiative while the US is making a helter-skelter retreat from Afghanistan, which it once invested much into. US elites are living in an illusion of "isolating China." But China is increasing its strength and discourse power in specific issues step by step.