Relations between China and the US have been unstable over the past 80 years.
In the 1940s to the 1960s, the US tried to halt the growth of China’s communist government. In the 1970s however, the US and China tried to start prospering a good relationship, helped by Nixon visiting China in 1971. Trade increased between the two global powers, with more investment ties and Chinese exports sent to the US. However, in recent years, the relations have soured again.
The souring relationship started when people in the US thought that China was becoming too powerful, and as a result, tried to label China as an ‘enemy’. According to the Pew Research Center, “Around four in ten Americans (4%) say China is an enemy of the U.S” . This belief has spread everywhere in the US, even the government. That has led to tense relations, which are so intense that it has been dubbed ‘The Second Cold War’, with economic and political issues arising as a result.
My view of the current situation between China and the US is that they should try to establish closer relationships, not get farther apart. This is because if China and the US are busy trying to limit each other’s powers, other world issues will still be going on, like human rights issues, and wars. One big issue right now is climate change. Climate change is a very big issue right now, and it will continue to get worse if some countries don’t do anything about it. Because China and the US are global powers, if they won’t
help try to stop climate change, it would be very hard for other nations to try to stop it because they don’t have as much power, wealth, and influence.
Another issue between the countries is their markets. I’m not talking about the markets where you buy food, toys, or clothing, I’m talking about their stock markets. Tense relations between the two superpowers have led to companies in both countries not being able to sell their stocks and products in each other’s markets. Now, since they cannot sell items in each other’s markets, this will lead to slower growth in the markets.
This also has negative consequences for the companies and consumers. Companies may not get enough consumers to buy their products, therefore they lose money, and consumers can’t buy different products, so they have limited purchasing options. Now, if both countries have slow markets, that will impact the entire world, because everyone will lose jobs. So, if everyone starts losing jobs because of the rivalry, then there will be only two countries to mainly blame: China and the USA.
This bad relationship has also affected the daily lives of many people. For example, the high tariffs now imposed on many Chinese goods have made it harder for people to buy things. Racism and hate crimes against Asian people have increased, and the cost of living in the US right now is very expensive.
The way I see it, the future of the relationship between China and the US won’t be so great if they are still competing like this. The markets not being available for companies to sell their products will cause slower growth, and could potentially cause more bear markets in the stock market for the US and China. Also, if there is rivalry in the future, it could slow down potential growth for China, which not only impacts trade,
but also other investments, and consumer spending. Global issues would take a much longer time to be solved because the two countries are at a pause for agreements.
Mostly, the consequences of the rivalry would be greater as time goes by. The US and China have been in a complex relationship. These two most powerful countries should work together to find a consensus on China’s growth, so they can work with the rest of the world to try to stop more pressing global issues.
