Chaguan How China sees America

摘要

SHORTLY BEFORE election day in America, Chaguan spent an instructive morning in central Beijing listening to a senior Chinese official explain why his country does not care who sits in the White House. This was partly bravado, for China's rulers do not care to play up the idea that mere voters might hold world leaders to account. But the official's disdain also reflects an elite consensus that a full reset of us-China relations is difficult to imagine.China wants smoother ties with America, said the official. But given their deep roots, present-day tensions will be hard to reverse unless America comes to a new understanding of the world. Westerners are a self-centred and judgmental lot, he charged. They never expected the Chinese-a diligent, studious people-to rival them so soon. No matter which party runs Washington, the official said, "The us has to answer this question: can the us or the Western world accept or respect the rise of China?"