CHINA-US: CASS RESEARCHER ATTRIBUTES US-CHINA TENSIONS TO TRUST DEFICIT

In a lengthy article published by the CASS on February 18, Hu Jian, a researcher at the Soft Power Research Center of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, contested US academic Allison’s theory of "Thucydides Trap" regarding the relationship between the rising power and the preserving power, calling it "inherently contradictory". He said "Throughout the history of the rise and fall of great powers at home and abroad, internal problems are the key, and even external behaviors are caused by internal contradictions. If the internal problems are not resolved, the country will inevitably decline no matter how powerful it is. This is the "Du Mu trap". In this case, the most important thing for big countries to get along is trust. If there is a trust "deficit" between each other, it will inevitably lead to misunderstandings, and misunderstandings will further aggravate the trust "deficit." He said the current conflicts between China and the United States are attributed by people who have been "dominated by Cold War thinking for a long time" to differences in social systems, ideologies, and values, but "the contradiction between China and the United States can be directly attributed to the mutual trust "deficit" and the misunderstandings that result from it. The U.S.'s misperception of China originates from within the U.S., and if China wants to eliminate this trust "deficit", it also needs to strengthen internal construction to improve its external cognition ability and level." He said China and the United States are seeking cooperation on the premise of acknowledging the above-mentioned differences and eventually establishing normal diplomatic relations and that China and the United States have for long built trust and promoted cooperation on the basis of seeking common ground while reserving differences. He stated in conclusion, "The United States’ trust deficit in China originates from within the United States. Similarly, China needs to strengthen its internal construction to eliminate the trust deficit between China and the United States. As long as you solve your own problems, you can avoid the "Du Mu trap" and face all external risks and threats with confidence."

(Comment: The 'Du Mu Trap' is named after a famous essayist of the Tang Dynasty)







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