Source:  CGTN    Published: 2025-01-13

By CGTN

China is driven by a desire for peace, stability, and global integration, with no intention of undermining the existing international system, but U.S. policy toward China appears to be excessively confrontational, a famed American political commentator told Foreign Policy, a U.S.-based news magazine.

If the U.S. were to adopt a more cooperative approach, the outcome might be different, said Fareed Zakaria, an Indian-born American journalist and host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS.

Trump's reelection sent a clear signal to the world - his 2016 victory was not a fluke but rather a phenomenon that has become an integral part of the Western political landscape, Zakaria said, adding that the traditional Republican Party no longer exists; it has been replaced by a populist, "America First" Republican Party.

China's development has largely benefited from peace, globalization, and stability, Zakaria said. Noting that certain anti-China rhetoric and actions in U.S. policies, such as the chip ban, are executed in an overly confrontational manner, he said this serves as a lesson for Democrats.

He argued that since the Vietnam War, Democrats have often been preoccupied with not appearing weak in the eyes of the right, leading to misguided decisions, and now, this same issue has surfaced in U.S. policy toward China. 

The show host expressed skepticism that senior U.S. officials genuinely endorse the current extreme, hardline, and adversarial approach to China.

Zakaria referenced the 2021 high-level U.S.-China strategic dialogue held in Anchorage, Alaska. He remarked that during the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was essentially reading a human rights script to China's foreign minister. Yet, in the four years that followed, the U.S. failed to take substantive action. The dialogue, he suggested, was more of a performance—a theatrical display.

On the issues of economic cooperation and removing tariffs on China, the U.S. government chose to adopt a wait-and-see approach, Zakaria said. They should have acted decisively because, regardless of what they did, Republicans would accuse them of being weak and compromising, he added.

If the U.S. had adopted a more cooperative attitude during the dialogue in Alaska, the outcome might have been different, he said, adding that this attitude has only gradually taken shape this year, but it took a long time, and the process caused significant damage along the way.

Zakaria also commented that the United States must take BRICS countries seriously, as they represent the discontent of major powers in some important regions of the world with the existing global order, particularly with the dominance of the U.S. and its Western allies. These countries are growing increasingly determined, and U.S. foreign policy should pay close attention to this shift, he said.

In summarizing the current global situation, Zakaria pointed out that the Chinese are far more strategic. China is slowly accumulating strength and building relationships, gradually replacing the U.S. as the dominant force in East Asia, he added.