The ‘Silent Majority’ Is the Foundation of US-China Relations

A short time ago, prominent U.S. expert on Chinese affairs David Lampton expressed concern over the state of U.S.-China relations, stating that he believes the relationship is approaching a “tipping point.”

His opinion is characteristic of the growing pessimism that has enshrouded U.S.-China relations over the past few years among some think tanks and the media. Interestingly, however, according to a survey conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and published on June 2, 67 percent of Americans support “friendly cooperation and engagement with China” in the face of its rising strength.

Support for this is even higher among the Democratic and Republican leadership, standing at 87 percent and 78 percent respectively. Conversely, only 29 percent of Americans favor a policy course that would “limit” China's growth, a proportion that falls even further to 22 percent and 25 percent among Democratic and Republic leaders.

This phenomenon is a reflection of the cognitive gap that exists in the views about U.S.-China relations between the U.S. media and think tanks on one side, and the American people and policymakers on the other. On a recent trip to the United States where I participated in a U.S.-China Strategic Dialogue at the Brookings Institution and had exchanges with the U.S. National Security Council, State Department and Defense Department officials, I was left with much the same impression as shown in the aforementioned results.

This suggests that many within the U.S. media and policy circles may place too strong a focus upon the drama of past differences between the United States and China, while ignoring the sturdy societal groundwork underlying U.S.-China relations. At the same time, there also exist false perceptions and emotionally colored views between the two nations with regard to each other’s intentions. Despite the United States' somewhat heightened misgivings about China in recent years and the subsequent increase in its operations for strategic containment and defense, the U.S. strategy toward China on the whole is still one of hedging its bets. That the two nations' common interests outweigh their differences has not fundamentally changed. We must have more strategic conviction, and even as we resolutely safeguard our national interests, we must come to see a broader view of U.S.-China relations. We must not simply respond in the moment, but must possess greater strategic patience, augment strategic communication and exchange, avoid misreading the other side within this game of nations and bolster our capability to guide and shape U.S. behavior toward peaceful ends.

In the opinion of this author, as we observe and analyze U.S.-China relations, we cannot overlook the “silent majority.” As we direct our gaze down toward the local, grass-roots levels within each nation, we are better able to see the robust societal base underlying U.S.-China relations, a base that grows stauncher with each passing day. From trade, science and technology, to education and culture, interpersonal exchange between the United States and China is growing ever deeper, evidence of converging interests and greater mutual reliance between the two in this globalized age. The annual trade volume between the United States and China now stands in excess of $550 billion, and Chinese investment in the United States is nearing $50 billion. With the environment, clean energy, agriculture and medical technology as representative fields, the two nations have begun close cooperation and innovation. From 2009 to 2014, more than 100,000 U.S. students came to China, and there are now more than 270,000 Chinese students studying in the United States, comprising one-third of its entire contingent of foreign students. Every day, more than 10,000 people traverse the Pacific between the twin coasts of the United States and China, with the number of trips prospectively breaking 5 million in 2015. In one respect, the U.S.-China cultural exchange can be likened to a great net bearing the enormous weight of U.S.-China relations, or perhaps is more similar to the very air itself, omnipresent and breathing life into the relationship between the two powers.

The “silent majority” is fulfilling the new model of great power relations between the United States and China. They vote with their feet, walking a new path of mutual respect and mutual benefit in place of conflict and antagonism. Their voices may rarely be projected in media headlines, but as observers of U.S.-China relations, it is crucial that we not ignore them. The billions of Americans and Chinese and the richly abundant interpersonal exchanges between them will be the font of our optimism for and belief in the future development of U.S.-China relations.

The author is executive deputy director of Beijing University's Institute for China-U.S. People to People Exchange.