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With the U.S. economy in a steep decline, Sino-U.S. rivalry is reaching a peak. People’s Republic of China (PRC) gained independence in 1949. Prior to that PRC had been brutalized by successive colonists, who ransacked the treasure troves of ancient Chinese dynasties, leaving the nation destitute. The Japanese occupation and the reign of terror by the Kuomintang (KMT) brought about the Long March led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) leader Mao Tse Dong. KMT Chief Chiang Kai Shek retreated to Taiwan, while ironically U.S. and the Occident recognized the government of KMT as “Republic of China”, ignoring the right of existence of 1.5 billion inhabitants of PRC for twenty six years.
Taiwan was also accommodated as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, while PRC was treated as a pariah, with the west prohibiting all from dealing, trading or providing any technological support to it. Despite all the restrictions, PRC continued to develop and in the last thirty years, its pragmatic leadership and astute planning has brought about a phenomenal rise in its economy and military strength.
The U.S., which was instrumental in suppressing PRC for nearly three decades, became wary of China’s rising power, which has overtaken Japan’s economy and is forecast to surpass the U.S. in a decade or so. However, the decline in the U.S. economy, its budget deficit, loss of credit rating and debt crisis may narrow the gap even sooner. Despite the fact that PRC bailed the U.S. by purchasing three trillion dollars worth of government bonds, the U.S. wastes no opportunity to criticize PRC. Its recent calls for the PRC to revalue its currency were met with the retort that it was imperative for the U.S., with its failing economy to consider a devaluation of its currency.
Simultaneously, surreptitiously, the U.S. has been conducting military exercises with PRC’s rivals in the region and is fanning disputes as well as arming them. Although the United States says it is not willing to intervene in the disputes over the oil and gas-rich South China Sea, yet it is sending the opposite signal to the world through its military drills with Vietnam and the Philippines. China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claim territory in the South China Sea, with most of those claims centered on the potentially energy rich Paracel and Spratly island chains. PRC, whose claim is apparently genuine, has issued sharp warnings in recent weeks, including threats of military action, to enforce its claims.
Although PRC has no hegemonic designs and aspires for peace in the region as well as globally and has even lent monetary support to the U.S. in its hour of need but the U.S. seems to be bent upon putting impediments in the path of China’s progress. The U.S. is apparently playing a double game and is talking to China to improve relations on the one hand but concurrently urging China’s rivals in the region to create problems for it. The United States and China have been able to smooth over some of the ruffles in their relationship, but as the recent tensions in the South China Sea show, there are fundamental differences strategically between the duo and those are only going to deepen in the coming months and years. Despite the U.S. denials that it is trying to contain China, China feels manifestly as if it is being contained. The U.S. has made it clear that it is a permanent player in the region and that it is going to get more involved, China is cognizant of what is taking shape, and has been critical of the U.S. meddling which should not be construed as whining.
The U.S. is not just abetting China’s detractors in the region, but has also been deliberately abrasive of PRC’s sensitivities. Despite China’s protests and expression of anger, U.S. President Barack Hussain Obama went ahead and welcomed Tibetan dissident leader Dalai Lama at the White House. Tibet is a Chinese state, while the Dalai Lama, its spiritual leader tried to lead an insurgency to break away from China. At its failure, he fled to India, which gave him refuge because of its rivalry with China and in 1962 India had received a sound drubbing at the hands of Chinese troops when it tried to encroach across Sino-Indian borders. India tries to compete with China in defense and economy to enhance its hegemonic designs in the region. The U.S. has also been meddling in China’s internal affairs by criticizing PRC’s continued incarceration of Nobel Laureate but dissident Liu Xiaobo.
PRC’s epic economic rise has also seen the emergence of corruption, which the U.S. is quick to exploit in its criticism. However, it fails to take cognizance of the fact that PRC’s judicial system is swift and ruthless and even top level bureaucrats and corporate leaders have been tried and if found guilty, been severely punished, in some cases; death penalty has been meted out depending on the severity of the crime to set an example.
The containment policy of the U.S. to clip PRC’s wings does not end with propping up India as a bulwark but also entails coercing Pakistan to keep PRC away from the strategic port of Gwadar, which was constructed through Chinese funding, pressurizing Iran and Pakistan to ensure that PRC is not made a beneficiary and co-signatory of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and sabotaging the energy corridor running from PRC’s Xinjiang province through Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan territory and onwards to Gawadar. PRC has presented evidence that the U.S. is supporting Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent Uyghur political activist from Xingjian, who has been given political asylum by the U.S. but foments trouble and separatist movements like the ETIM in her home province leading to terror attacks. The U.S. should give up its Sino-bashing policy and recognize PRC’s growing status. It would be in the interest of both and the region, if the duo can work together to make the world a better place rather than sparring with each other. 
S. M. Hali is a film producer and a practicing journalist. He has contributed over 2000 articles, produced 125 documentaries and hosts a TV talk show. He is currently based in Islamabad.
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