U.S.–China relations have always been complex. As China has emerged as the second-largest economy and a superpower rivaling the United States for the number one spot, the relationship is getting even more complicated. Which country leads as a superpower can be quite important to the world order, since the two countries hold very different values.
The United States has regarded China as either a strategic opponent or a fierce competitor by recent administrations. How does China view the United States? And what are China’s long-term intentions? Some answers to these may be drawn from a speech by Jin Canrong, a prominent Chinese professor at the People’s University of China. According to Professor Jin, China not only wants to overtake the United States, but also wants to own it.
