Opinion | US and China should learn from the Cold War to avoid an arms race and conflict
- In spite of hostilities between the US and Soviet Union, professional communications were maintained and strengthened through verifiable confidence-building measures
- Beijing and Washington should seek to do the same, establishing strategic equilibrium in new areas such as cyber and artificial intelligence, and in space
For over two decades, China-US military discussions have often been in a Catch-22 situation: Americans wanted technical discussions, say, on how to avoid close and dangerous encounters between ships and aircraft, while the Chinese would point out that these encounters in Chinese waters should simply stop.
Americans would then cite their right to freedom of navigation and overflight, and ask Chinese ships monitoring American vessels to keep a safe distance. The Chinese response? You are safest when you stay away.
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Xi Jinping warns against ‘new Cold War’ and ‘confrontation’
China and the US are not enemies. But reducing the risks between them could be more challenging than it was for the US and the Soviet Union. First, there were clearly defined spheres of influence between Washington and Moscow, which allowed them to avoid direct confrontation.