In the morning of November 2, the “Chinese Marxism and Contemporary Times”, as an ideological and political theory course for doctoral students, was offered in H-03 Huiwen Building, and Professor Xu Jianhua from The Marxism College delivered a special report on “relations under great changes in a century”. With his, years of research experience and profound theoretical knowledge, Professor Xu discussed with the students theevolution of relations under great changes in a century.

First of all, Professor Xu reviewed the development of China-US relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties, and summarized the characteristics of China-US relations at different stages and the major events affecting the bilateral relations. He held that the strategic adjustment of China-US relations has begun since Obama’s second term; after Trump’s term and during the current Biden term, the strategy has been basically finalized. In the past, mutual trust between China and the United States was based on the fact that the two countries were far apart in strength, could complement each other economically and had common rivals in security. Now, as these conditions no longer exist, the overall China-US relations are undergoing considerable changes. The newUS National Security Strategy positions China as “the only competitor with the intention and increasing ability to reshape the international order”, and puts forward competitive strategies aimed at China from all aspects and angles.

Second, Professor Xu analyzed the changes of China-US relations from three aspects: the re-recognition of identity, the re-definition of interests and the re-consideration of ideology. Before the Obama administration, the strategic approach of the United States toward China was mainly to “bring China into the international system”. In strategic principle, the United States pursued a policy of engagement, that is, taking engagement as the main aspect, and struggle as the supplementary one. Meanwhile, the United States has been hedging its bets on big issues by resorting to strategic ambiguity, and has never made up its mind to define China as a major competitor. In terms of strategic purpose, the United States intends to change China so that it can become “a China more like the United States”. As for China, we always adhere to the strategic thought of peace and cooperation, and adopt an overall strategy based on cooperation for the United States and other members of the international community. Therefore, the overall situation of relations is represented by the co-existence of cooperation and competition, with cooperation as the dominant aspect.

In the end, Professor Xu made reference to the important speech delivered by President Xi Jinping during the video meeting with US President Joe Biden, where President Xi Jinping summed up the experience and lessons on the development of relations, and stated that in the new era, China and the United States should adhere to three principles in the course of interaction: first, mutual respect, i.e. respect each other’s social system and development path, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, respect each other’s development rights, treat each other as equals, manage differences, and seek common ground while shelving differences; second, peaceful co-existence, i.e. no conflict or confrontation is the bottom line that both sides must hold; third, win-win cooperation, i.e. the interests of China and the United States are deeply intertwined, and cooperation benefits the two countries, while confrontation hurts both.