MKsports senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies. Photo: GT" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2024/2024-12-14/0bf5c263-a783-4835-b3c6-67b815ad92ba.png" />

Yang Xiyu, senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies. Photo: GT

China-US relations are expected to face even more challenging times, and China needs to focus on managing its own affairs, Yang Xiyu, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said at the Global Times Annual Conference 2025, themed "Moving forward in Partnership: Resonance of Values between China and the World," which is held in Beijing on Saturday. 

Yang spoke during the session on "Exploring the Ways of Interaction Among Major Powers: Differences and Consensus" of the conference. 

China-US relations encompass a wide range of areas, which can be categorized into three main domains on politics and security, economic/trade and technology, and ideology. Moving forward, the relationship is expected to face even more challenging times, with intense competition and potentially stormy and turbulent scenarios. China must be well-prepared for these developments, said Yang. 

Yang said that the increasingly tense China-US relations stem from two key factors. First, the shifts in the balance of power between the two countries, leading to rising US strategic anxiety toward China. Second, the international political security order centered on the United Nations is facing mounting challenges, while the US dollar-dominated international economic and financial system is becoming increasingly unsustainable and even dysfunctional. 

Currently, the core structural issue in the international system is the dysfunction of the old order and a new one is unable to establish, said Yang. 

In its relations with China, the US has pursued a strategy of competition aimed at outcompeting and beating China. In contrast, China needs to follow three guiding principles: mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.

Given the significant differences between the two sides, what can be done? For China, there is only one path: to focus its efforts on managing its own affairs, said Yang. 

Global Times