The rapid downward slide of China-US relations has exceeded everyone’s expectations. Even I, who was quite pessimistic, did not foresee this nose dive. If one talks about China in Washington now, the atmosphere can best be described as paranoid.

Less than a year after President Donald Trump took office, Washington declared that the US had entered an era of “great power competition” with China as its top strategic rival. The US has taken steps big and small to bash China on trade, technology and student and personnel exchanges. It has also shifted military resources towards the western Pacific, targeting China while pressuring its allies to take the American side as it provokes tension. As for China, though it has not given up its long-held policy of co-operation, it has to fight back against the bullying fists.

Since the end of the cold war, China and the US have headed in different directions. China believes the world, having endured two world wars and a long cold war, is turning to development in a peaceful environment. China has followed this trend; it has reformed and opened up its economy and concentrated on growth. It is now the world’s second-largest economy with a global network of partners. Its participation and influence in international affairs have also grown.