1、China or the US? Make your choiceBy Gideon RachmanThe defining geopolitical(地缘政治的) drama of the next century will be the battle for power and influence between China and America. That emerging struggle is already posing(造成) awkward(尴尬的) choices for Asian countries, caught between the two global gian
2、ts.On Monday the US senate pressed forward with a bill allowing for the imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods. Even if the protectionist drive in America now pauses for a while, this confrontational(对抗性的) mood in the US poses a dilemma(两难境地) for Chinas neighbours. China is now the largest trading p
3、artner for Japan, India, Australia, South Korea and most of the nations of south-east Asia. But these countries still have their most important military relationship with the US. How long can their economic and strategic interests point in different directions?Not for long, if one is to judge by an
4、editorial in the Peoples Daily last week. The official newspaper of the Chinese Communist party took aim at “certain countries” who “think as long as they can balance China with the help of US military power, they are free to do whatever they want”.The article was probably provoked(惹恼) by a statemen
5、t from Japan and the Philippines, the previous day, in which the two countries promised to boost(增强) naval co-operation and implicitly disputed Chinas extensive(广阔的) territorial claims in the South China Sea. But Chinas warning could equally have been aimed at Vietnam, India, South Korea, Australia
6、or Taiwan all of whom have moved over the past year to strengthen military ties with America.The irony, of course, is that it is precisely Chinese sabre-rattling(武力恫吓), exemplified by that article in the Peoples Daily, that is sending its neighbours running screaming into the arms of Uncle Sam. Unti
7、l recently China seemed to be playing an intelligent waiting game relying on its growing economic strength to draw its neighbours inexorably(不可阻挡的) into a Chinese sphere of influence. Now the Peoples Republic risks overplaying its hand and so creating the anti-Chinese alliance that it both fears and
8、 denounces(谴责).A more patient policy would make sense(明智之举) for China because it is likely to be the worlds largest economy by 2020. The US remains the worlds dominant military power and is even the pre-eminent(无人能及的 ) military force in Chinas own Pacific backyard. But since political and military p
9、ower usually track economic power, American hegemony in the Pacific Ocean may ultimately be unsustainable(不可维系). It is this point that the Peoples Daily was alluding to(暗示), when it warned “No country wants to give back their ticket for the high-speed train of Chinas economic development.”With the U
10、S government borrowing 40 cents of every dollar that it spends and China the largest foreign buyer of US debt the Chinese are indirectly funding American military dominance of the Pacific. Even as Americas allies in the region move to strengthen ties with the US, they worry that Americas money probl
11、ems will force the country to scale back(缩减) in the Pacific. At the same time, China is building up its own military. American planners point to the development of a new range(系列) of Chinese missiles that directly threaten the airbases and aircraft carriers(航母) on which America bases its military do
12、minance in the Pacific.Chinas neighbours are also worried by the countrys growing muscle and its willingness to flex(伸展) it. Over the past couple of years, Chinas maritime(海上的) disputes with Vietnam and Japan have taken on(呈现) a new bitterness with clashes on the high seas followed by bitter diploma
13、tic exchanges. The Indians say that China is becoming more assertive(刚毅而自信的 ) about its claims to parts of Indian territory. The South Koreans are also jumpy(紧张不安的) about Chinas relationship with the North.The dark interpretation of Chinas actions is that nationalist forces and the countrys military
14、 are becoming more influential in Beijing. A younger generation is coming to power, schooled to believe that China has been victimised by the outside world because it has been weak. The current contrast in the economic fortunes of China and America has also increased Chinas confidence and assertiven
15、ess.A more benign(和善的) interpretation of Chinese actions is that the country now has a growing range of economic interests around the world which makes it all but inevitable that it will spend a lot more on its military and will be tougher in asserting (强硬地坚持) its interests. The hungry Chinese econo
16、my is dependent on imported energy and would be vulnerable to a naval blockade(封锁). Building a few aircraft carriers and submarines, and pushing Chinas claims to the energy riches of the South China Sea, might seem like a sensible precaution(预防措施) for the Chinese government rather than the aggressiv
17、e claim to regional dominance that its neighbours fear.Yet even this relatively benign interpretation of Chinas actions is not entirely reassuring(令人放心的). It suggests that China and the US are increasingly likely to interpret each others actions and alliances as threatening and to respond in ways th
18、at then feed the other sides perception of aggression(敌对行动). This is a pattern of great power behaviour that might ring a bell for students of 20th century history.Yet amid all these tensions(紧张状态), diplomatic exchanges across the Pacific continue. Next month Barack Obama will host all the major pow
19、ers of the region, including China, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit that will be held in the presidents native Hawaii. Perhaps Mr Obama should arrange a trip to Pearl Harbor to remind everybody of the dangers of strategic miscalculation in the Pacific.http:/ Why are other Asian coun
20、tries stuck in dilemma standing between China and the US?2. Why do Japan and Philippines decide to boost mutual naval cooperation?3. What is the traditional strategy employed by China to exert its influences on other Asian countries?4. How is this strategy changed, in the eyes of this writer?5. Acco
21、rding to the author, why does China make such a switch in foreign and military policies?6. In what way are the Chinese indirectly funding American military dominance of the Pacific?7. What do Chinas Asian neighbours worry in terms of American military existence in the Pacific?8. Briefly explains the
22、 two interpretations of Chinas actions, provided by the writer. How do you understand them? Which one do you agree, why?9. How does the writer explain the behaviour pattern between China and the US? 10. Why does the writer suggest President Obama to arrange Asia-Pacific leaders to visit Pearl Harbor?11. How do you interpret and predict the relationship between China and the US? Why? 12. And what measures should China take in reaction to hostility from other Asian countries and the US?
