Strategic Miscalculation

The author is a researcher at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Since May, many U.S. senior officials, including President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser Robert C. O’Brien and Attorney General William P. Barr, have spoken on China-U.S. relations, relentlessly talking about China’s “evil doings.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared the U.S. policy of engagement with China a failure in his speech at the Nixon Library on July 23, squaring off against China by initiating a so-called new cold war.

China has responded with rationality and calmness. On August 5, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, interviewed by Xinhua News Agency, reviewed the history of the bilateral ties, refuted the accusations of some U.S. politicians, and called on the U.S. to work with China to bring the ties back to the track of cooperation.