BEIJING, July 10. /TASS/. Washington and Beijing have become nemeses, and this won’t change after November’s US presidential election, Andrey Kortunov, research director at the Russian International Affairs Council, told TASS.
"I think that it’s not quite right to talk about the conflict in the future tense because the conflict has already broken out and it’s more appropriate to speak about whether it’s possible to stabilize the situation," said Kortunov, who visited Beijing to take part in the World Peace Forum at Tsinghua University. "These relations of competition, which will occasionally turn into direct confrontation, will persist for quite a while, regardless of who comes to power in the US this November," he added.
According to the expert, Washington cannot accept China as an equal power in terms of international influence, status and capability. Foreign policy-wise, the idea of American leadership continues to dominate in the US, Konrtunov noted, adding that "the difference between Biden and Trump is not that significant."
"Neither Washington nor Beijing is interested in uncontrolled escalation, which is why we have seen and will continue to see attempts to stabilize relations," Kortunov went on to say. In his view, "each of the parties appears to believe that time is on its side." "I don’t see a possibility for resolving differences between Beijing and Washington," he noted, adding: "I think, even if it happens, it will take time."
Washington is hosting a NATO summit on July 9-11. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty. Participants in the summit will particularly focus on discussing China and options for the bloc’s cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the Nikkei Asia newspaper, the North Atlantic Alliance plans to sign the first document on expanding cooperation with Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan at the summit.