U.S. should not overreact to China's increasing global role: expert

The United States should not overreact to China's increasingly global role, said a Chinese expert.

Misunderstanding has grown recently between China and the United States, observed Ruan Zongze, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.

Suspicion about China's "assertiveness" in international affairs on the U.S. side, complaints about Washington's China policy on the Chinese side, against the background of frictions over the South China Sea and cybersecurity, plus the magnifying effect of U.S. presidential campaigns on China-U.S. tension, have cast a shadow on the future of China-U.S. relations, said Ruan.

The uneasiness is a result of Washington's failure to adapt to China's transition to a more assertive posture in foreign policy, he wrote in Wednesday's Global Times newspaper.

Ironically, Washington, which used to ask China to shoulder greater international responsibilities, is now wary of major Chinese initiatives, such as a major-country relationship with the United States, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and "One Belt, One Road," he said.

Washington has a tendency of misinterpreting China's statements on foreign affairs, noted Ruan.

When China said the Pacific is broad enough for both China and the United States, China wanted to express its willingness to peacefully coexist with the United States. Some Americans, however, saw the statement as a threat to undermine U.S. dominance in Asia, he observed.

China's efforts to safeguard territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea by no means harbor the intention of driving the United States out of Asia, he said.

China also expects the United States to play a positive role in the Asia-Pacific, as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has recently told his U.S. counterpart, John Kerry, in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

As a matter of fact, China's confidence in international affairs reveals a more responsible China, which is in line with world aspirations and provides an opportunity for China-U.S. cooperation, said Ruan.

A major-country relationship between China and the United States is needed by both countries, he said. China is well aware of the importance of a healthy relationship with the United States. At the same time, cooperation with China will help strengthen Washington's status, he commented.

Therefore, there is a need to uphold the idea of major-country relationship between the two countries despite the noise, he urged. Endi