Equal participation of China, US crucial to Asia’s prosperity

The concept of "two Asias" coined by U.S. scholars has attracted extensive attention. It refers to the China-led "Economic Asia" and U.S.-led "Security Asia." They have presented a scenario of "two Asias" to see whether the two major powers can coexist peacefully in the region. "Economic Asia" is based on the fact that Asia's economic landscape has changed fundamentally. Due to China's rapid economic development and the reinforced trend toward regional economic integration, Asian economies have been more closely connected with China in trade, investment, and markets. Furthermore, the percentage of the trade with the United States in East Asian countries' total foreign trade volume has been on a steady decline. "Security Asia" shows that the United States is still trying to maintain its military dominance in the region through various means. However, since the end of the Second World War, it has taken the old path of relying on allies to strengthen bilateral and multilateral security alliances, and failed to take regional changes into consideration. This old path is out of step with Asia's economic integration, and is a dead-end. It is more appropriate to discuss the future of Asia from the following perspectives. The United States will continue to play an important role in Asia's economic affairs, and China will play a significant role in regional security affairs. It requires the joint efforts and mutual respect of China and the United States to establish a new regional order aimed at ensuring long-term prosperity and stability in Asia. However, the problem is that the United States does not have enough courage to recognize China's status as a great power sincerely, not to mention working with China to build a new type of great power relations featuring mutual respect and win-win cooperation. This is why the U.S. rebalancing strategy in the Asia-Pacific region has sent too many negative signals.