How a Sino-US relationship reset would help make America great again

Breaking with tradition, US President Donald Trump chose to personally launch the National Security Strategy in December. He named China and Russia “revisionist powers”, “attempting to erode American security and prosperity”. While conceding the need to cooperate with China, he vowed to make the US, including its military, more competitive and stronger, always putting America first.

This was soon echoed in the 2018 National Defence Strategy, which asserts that “great-power competition”, not terrorism, must be the focus of national security. The road map aims to sharpen military lethality, including nuclear weaponry, and expand America’s military alliances.

Some American opinion leaders have regretted that the US supported China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation, which has helped China’s economic rise. There is bipartisan consensus that attempts to mould China into a “responsible stakeholder” of the US-led world order have been unsuccessful. A more robust anti-China mindset seems to have moved centre stage.

Under a new “Indo-Pacific Strategy”, Trump has re-energised a quadrilateral strategic alliance of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, all not so friendly towards China. Various Chinese investments in the US have recently been blocked. A 30 per cent tariff has been imposed on Chinese solar panels, an ominous first salvo of what could escalate into a trade war. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently warned Latin America against dependency created by China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”. A storm seems to be gathering in US-China relations.