SHANGHAI, August 16. /TASS/. The US Democratic and Republican parties share an intention to contain China's development in order to retain global leadership, for which a variety of instruments is to be used, including AUKUS, one of the means of China's strategic encirclement, Professor Pan Dawei, of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, has told TASS.
"The crux of the matter is: what is America's plan? The plot is obvious. America's political elites are now explicitly calling China their 'number one competitor.' Shifting its strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific Region is a long-term and preplanned effort. America's containment of China's development in all fields boils down to the aim of maintaining its global leadership. This has already become a consensus and a common idea of the Democratic and Republican parties of America," he said, while commenting on the possibility of NATO-AUKUS integration, which Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned on Tuesday in his address to the participants in the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security.
The expert recalled that in 1998 China increased its investments in US debt securities to help the United States get out of the financial crisis.
"Regrettably, instead of due gratitude China's sincere assistance to America on the contrary aroused suspicion, anxiety and panic," he stated.
Pan recalled that the "pivot to Asia" policy was proclaimed earlier by former US President Barack Obama, while Donald Trump, after his rise to power, explicitly called China "top competitor."
"Biden, who is worthy of being a veteran politician, says something very different from what he actually does. He has inherited the policies of his predecessors toward China," Pan stated.
"We know very well what kind of country the United States is. With its accumulated experience and capabilities, China will cope with this challenge. In the Asia-Pacific Region, America has already established several blocs and alliances to enforce China's strategic encirclement. AUKUS is one of them," the expert said, recalling that from the first day of its existence, "this trilateral security pact has had a bad reputation, because it involves illegal proliferation of nuclear weapons."
Pan believes that although Biden needs AUKUS as a tool against China, he forgets that this pact is not a full-fledged organization like NATO. The expert also recalled that the US recently announced its intention to establish a NATO office in Japan, but the proposal did not work.
"Undoubtedly, Biden wants this very much, but he is unlikely to succeed," the Chinese expert believes.
AUKUS
The US formed the AUKUS alliance with Australia and the UK in 2021. This partnership provides, in particular, for building nuclear submarines for Canberra and a number of other joint military projects. The White House speculated that this bloc could be expanded someday to incorporate US partners in Europe and Asia.