In the mid-1960s, when the world was dominated by the two superpowers — the United States and the Soviet Union — China routinely described their relationship as one of “colluding and contending” for power and influence.
That was the view of a China that was economically weak and diplomatically isolated. Today, things are very different. The Soviet Union no longer exists and the world's top two powers are now the United States and China, a rising superpower.
No one uses the phrase “colluding and contending” to describe their bilateral relationship, though that would not be too far off the mark. But the United States, at least, is quite willing to characterize the relationship as one of “cooperation and competition.”
Hillary Clinton, in her recent trip to Beijing, met with U.S. Embassy personnel and candidly acknowledged that the difficulty was “trying to find the right balance between cooperation and competition.”
In fact, her last visit to China as secretary of state underlined the nature of the U.S.-China relationship today, one in which the two countries compete for influence around the world but where they also cooperate when it is in their interest to do so, as in jointly opposing Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
While both openly attest friendship for the other, there is also a deep suspicion of the other's intentions. Given this lack of mutual trust, perhaps the word “frenemies” best describes their relationship.
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