Thread by @GeringTuvia

"The future of US-China relations hinges on the transformation of America's self-perception of its Cold War 'victory'" - Professor Zhang Yun of Niigata University with a fascinating short article on the old and new "Cold Wars".
Summary and excerpts:
1/11

Zhang believes that the "new Sino-US Cold War" theory is based on the US misperception of itself as the undisputed winner of the Cold War against the Soviet Union. For Sino-US relations to return to normal, it must make a paradigm shift.
2/

"The USSR could not resist the temptation to overreact militarily, ideologically, and diplomatically in response to the US military and propaganda provocations, and its military-enabled hegemony has resulted in a significant lag in social and economic development.
3/

"Thus, the disintegration of the USSR was primarily due to internal factors, rather than the success of US policy. China, on the other hand, began reforming in 1978 and pursued a non-ideological foreign policy of independence and peace in 1982, almost a decade before the USSR.
4/

"The disintegration of the Soviet Union was widely interpreted as an ideological victory for democracy over autocracy, upon which the US began to promote democracy around the world, primarily through economic sanctions and military intervention, the CW 'magic weapons'.
5/

"The wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, on the other hand, demonstrated that the US 'magic weapons' don't work. Meanwhile, NATO's eastward expansion did not stabilize the post-Cold War European security order, but rather accelerated the US decline and regional insecurity.
6/

"And yet, these realities have not convinced the US that the 'Cold War victory" perception is an illusion; at the very least, it is unwilling to admit it."
7/

"Therefore, China's rapid rise has become a source of concern for the United States, which frequently appears to regard its previous relationship with China as a mistake.
8/

"Some argue that we would not be where we are now if the US had not allowed China to join the WTO so easily 20 years ago, but had instead required China to transform itself according to the American vision as a prerequisite.
9/

"However, such analysis is not only pointless but also unhealthy, because it is rooted in the 'Cold War victory' perception; it is based on the belief that China's development is somehow the result of US benevolence.
10/

"Following this logic, some Americans confronted with China's development will naturally turn to the Cold War toolbox for solutions, resulting in the emergence of a 'new Cold War' theory."
11/11
Link: aisixiang.com/data/131158.ht…