For all the talk about the progress in China-U.S. relations, some Chinese experts hold a different view. Thirty-five years after the thaw in relations between China and the United States, the difficulty in their cooperation is mounting instead of declining, while their conflicts and frictions are increasing, said Yan Xuetong, Director of the Institute of International Studies of Tsinghua University.

"The biggest difficulty today is that they no longer have a major common strategic threat, which used to be the Soviet Union," said Yan in a recent interview with Beijing Review.

However, this does not affect their pursuit of common interests, something that Yan believes is a legacy of the Shanghai Communique of 1972. Mindful of the landmark document that opened the door to China-U.S. diplomatic relations, Yan underlined what he called "passive cooperation" between China and the United States and its implications for the international community.

Continued cooperation

The Shanghai Communique is significant mainly in that it turned hostile China-U.S. relationship into a cooperative one, Yan said. He pointed out that almost no substantial changes have taken place in cooperative relations since the communique was issued.

However, this relationship was forged at a time when differences prevailed. Yan noted that the Shanghai Communique is mainly about the different positions of the two countries. That's partly what makes the document relevant today, as it shows that the two countries are willing to cooperate despite their vast differences. So, the cooperation between China and the United States is not always active, he added, saying that most of the time they have to cooperate passively.

Yan cited the China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue, a twice-a-year dialogue mechanism launched in September last year, to illustrate his point. He argued that the dialogue did not mean the cooperation between China and the United States was strengthening. Instead, it is evidence that their divergences are deepening and that severe conflicts are pending. The dialogue aims at managing the conflicts between the two countries, thus preventing them from resulting in drastic strategic changes in bilateral relations, he said.

"The China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue shows that the cooperation between the two countries today is based on their frictions and conflicts, just like 35 years ago," Yan commented. "What they are trying to do is to seek common interests from frictions and conflicts."

Yan analyzed the international implications of China-U.S. relations from the perspectives of security, economy and the world's development. He said China and the United States are the most powerful nations in the world in terms of overall national power. As long as they are at peace, the possibility of a world war can be ruled out, he said. It is his belief that the two countries' cooperation in the security field would make the world more peaceful.

He continued to say that China and the United States are two economic engines of the world, and their economic cooperation contributes greatly to world economic growth. He believes their economic frictions will only have a minimal impact on the world economy, as both economies are growing. The expert estimated that China would become the world's second largest trading nation after the United States by the end of 2009. The market potentials they offer to the world are not to be underestimated.

Yan further pointed out that China's development raised a new question: What should the world be like in the future, following the U.S. model or the Chinese model? He said the whole world would seriously consider which model is more suitable and works better. When the Chinese Government put forward the concept of "a harmonious world," the Americans were convinced that the political competition between China and the United States had started, he observed.

Not allies, but classmates

Over the past 35 years, China and the United States have never been real allies, Yan noted, adding that they will not become allies even in another 35 years. That's because the United States does not want to see China rise to become the most powerful country in the world, he explained. This "structural conflict" makes it impossible for the two countries to become "strategic partners" in the real sense. Yan suggested Chinese and U.S. leaders should bear this in mind and not expect too much from each other's country.

Yan opined that the Taiwan issue is a means for the United States to hold back China's emergence as a world power. He pointed out that its statement on the Taiwan issue in the Shanghai Communique-"The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The U.S. Government does not challenge that position."-was quite ambiguous

Yan said by using the word "acknowledge," Washington avoided expressing explicitly whether it believes Taiwan is a part of China or not. Instead, it simply states that it understands Taiwan's status is determined by the Chinese. This explains why the United States has never halted its political and military support of Taiwan, he said, adding that it will stick to this policy in the years ahead.

When the United States calls on China to become a "responsible" country, China should demand that the United States do the same, Yan said. He stressed that the "teacher-student relationship," in which Beijing listens to Washington's instructions, should be changed. He believes it would be more reasonable if they could become "classmates," between whom dialogues are held equally. With this transition, the two countries will be able to carry out cooperation and cope with conflicts more efficiently, he said.