World should overcome Cold War mentality on US-China ties, says expert

World
Europe

By CGTN's World Insight

The world is still gripped by a Cold War mentality that is making it see China’s economic power as a threat, and US media is not helping, according to an expert on US-China relations.

“The story about China, about US-China relations, especially economic relations, is distorted in the American media,” Cheng Li, director of the John L. Thornton China Center, told CGTN’s World Insight.

Media and think tanks should “educate the public why mutually beneficial economic cooperation should be the goal we really inspire (to)”, but the “media does not present a balanced view of China”, he argued.

The US and China held high-level economic talks this week in Washington, D.C., but US media reports said they ended with no agreement and a joint press conference was cancelled. US President Donald Trump has also been particularly scathing about China, accusing it of stealing US jobs.

But the truth is trade with China is actually beneficial to the US, according to Li.

“Many people in today’s world are still preoccupied with the Cold War kind of mentality or 19th century world view”, he argued. They feel “the emerging power and existing power cannot find a kind of relationship other than conflictual, but that’s utterly wrong.”

Outdated ideas should not dominate our thinking, Li went on. “Through communication, through dialogue we will find we’re more similar than we thought," he noted.

World Insight with Tian Wei is a 45-minute global affairs and debate show on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 10.15 p.m. BJT (1415GMT), with rebroadcasts at 4.15 a.m. BJT (2015GMT).