China an opportunity, not a threat

By Harvey Dzodin

China has become the low-hanging fruit for US politicians, especially US presidential candidates. Rather than engaging in a race to the bottom, US leaders should have the courage to work together to achieve win-win results.

It doesn't have to be this way. In fact, if the US were serious about dealing with global existential challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, the artificial intelligence "Armageddon", pandemics, and "black swan" and "gray rhino" events, it would have shown the political courage to steer Sino-US relations in a win-win direction. This is exactly what President Xi Jinping did when he proposed a new model of major country relations to former US president Barack Obama in Sunnylands, California, in 2013, which paved the way for both countries helping the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris to adopt the 2015 Paris Agreement, from which Trump withdrew in January 2017.

Oct 1 this year will mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. In the 45 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, the trade volume has increased by more than 200 times, with bilateral investments reaching over $260 billion. The mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has supported approximately 2.6 million jobs in the US and generated annual profits exceeding $50 billion for over 70,000 American companies operating in China.

The US vice-presidential debate is scheduled for Oct 1 and could be determinative. With the US election set for Nov 5, the outcome remains highly uncertain. It is crucial that the US presidential race focuses on substantive issues rather than resorting to China bashing or targeting other nations, as well as avoiding trivial distractions.

Harvey Dzodin is a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.