On the Chinese side, under Xi Jinping’s assertive leadership, the government is no longer heeding Deng Xiaoping’s injunction that the country should “hide its strength, bide its time, and never take the lead” in international affairs. It has pursued manifestly expansionist territorial claims, most notably in the South China Sea, and shown a clear determination to resist the indefinite continuation of American dominance in the region.
让中美关系变得危险的是两国的强大力量似乎决定要来一个碰撞。中国在习近平的强势领导下，政府不再遵循邓小平在国际事务上“韬光养晦，等待时机，永远不要当头”的遗训。中国开始公然追求扩张主义领土主张，特别是在南海，并明确表现出反对美国在该地区无限期主导的决心。中国人普遍认为，美国想要孤立、遏制和破坏中国。