New generation of leaders may be best hope for US-China relations, says ex-Obama adviser
- Ryan Hass said it is hard to imagine a better future at present, but the best-case scenario would be the emergence of leaders who want to move on from the past
- Ex-White House adviser also said this ‘perhaps’ will not happen while Xi Jinping is in power but the US should still be looking to the future
He told a podcast released by his think tank on Monday that imagining a better future for the US-China relationship is hard, but “Xi Jinping is mortal. He is not going to be in control of China forever. And our approach toward China needs to account for this”.
When asked what the best-case scenario for the relationship between the two countries in five to 10 years’ time was, he replied: “A new generation of leaders in both the United States and China come forward and are focused on solving problems of the future rather than adjudicating grievances of the past.”
The former White House China adviser said that if such leaders did not allow their differences to “define the entirety of the relationship”, then “over time a bit more balance emerges with space for cooperation, even amidst intensifying competition”.
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