http://www.bjreview.com APRIL 20, 2017 BEIJING REVIEW 19
important for bilateral relations. Only through
contact can relations develop toward a
positive direction. Despite Trump criticizing
China a lot during his election campaign,
there has been no major volatility in
China-U.S. relations since he assumed
power. The locationóthe Mar-a-Lago re-
sort in Florida, which is far from ìseriousî
Washington, D.C.óset the meeting apart
from the traditional political decision-making
process and thus avoid government bureau-
cracies attached with such visits. It shows
the distinctive personal character of Trump,
which is totally different from that of tradi-
tional U.S. bureaucrats.
The relations between Russia, China
and the United States are too complicated
to be called a triangle. The third side of a
triangle definitely changes if the other two
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current state of the three nationsí ties. On
regional and international affairs, China and
Russia have very similar stances. Therefore,
the development of China-U.S. relations will
not damage China-Russia relations. I per-
sonally take a positive attitude toward the
development of China-U.S. relations.Alexey Fenenko,
associate profes-
sor, Faculty of
World Politics,
Moscow State
University:
In history, when the
economic status
of an established
power declines, its
threats to the inter-
national community increase. It might adopt
risky moves to maintain its international sta-
tus. The United States nowadays is showing
such behavior. Following the decline of its
global standing, uncertainty about U.S. activ-
ity in the world arena is on the rise.
The United States worries a lot that
China and Russia may form some sort of
alliance which might pose a threat to the
United Statesí dominant role.
China and Russia have established a stra-tegic partnership based on which the two
nations will coordinate their stances on ma-
jor international affairs. Washington has been
trying to dismantle this partnership. Against
this backdrop, the timing of the U.S. attack
on Syria is meant to sow discord between
Beijing and Moscow by making Moscow sus-
picious of Beijingís stance on the Syrian crisis.
The U.S. has played similar games before.
Years ago, in an attempt to drive a wedge
between the two countries, some Western
think tanks spread the idea that Russia was
planning to join NATO.
Due to the Syrian issue, relations be-
tween Russia and the United States are
extremely strained. The two nationsí coop-
eration on anti-terrorism has almost halted.
The two governments really need to take
pragmatic steps to prevent their relationship
returning to its condition during the Cold
War. QCopyedited by Chris Surtees
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