美国总统特朗普亚洲之行的主题，是继续推进奥巴马“重返亚洲”和“亚洲再平衡”战略，以遏制正在崛起的中国。在亚洲战略方面，特朗普与奥巴马的一个重要区别在于他使用的是“印太地区”（Indo-Pacific）一词，而不是传统上的“亚太地区”（Asia-Pacific）。实际上，奥巴马所用的“亚洲”概念，指的也是围绕中国周边的东海、南海及印度洋海域各国。这一区域构成了当今世界最强劲的一条经济发展带，同时也是亚洲、非洲和欧洲之间的交通干道。美国的战略一直是谋求重新构筑冷战围堵框架，在遏制与平衡中国崛起的同时，也使美国能最大程度地分享这一地区的经济发展成果，尽可能长时间地维系美国的全球霸权地位。

特朗普此次亚洲行的重要成果之一，是利用朝鲜核问题，强化了美日韩军事同盟。特朗普到访期间，日本和韩国都承诺将花费巨资购买美国更多的高端武器。日本计划购买第五代歼击轰炸机、海基型拦截导弹、配备“宙斯盾”作战系统的军舰以及陆基“宙斯盾”反导系统。韩国将购买美国高技术侦察装备、导弹、核潜艇及其他各种最新式武器。通过向日韩出售新的尖端武器，美国最终将建成战略反导系统的亚洲段。毫无疑问，这套系统所针对的主要目标是中国。

在越南岘港亚太经合组织（APEC）峰会上，特朗普表示，美国要向印太地区所有国家提出新的双边伙伴关系，以巩固友谊及贸易，并推广繁荣及安全。特朗普正式使用“印太”概念，意味着美国将公开致力于谋求组建更大范围的经济和军事同盟，尤其是要把印度拉入，以抗衡中国。过去几年里，是日本一直站在前台，力推旨在强化“印太海洋安全合作”的美日印澳“四方对话”计划。

简而言之，遏制中国始终是美国亚洲战略的核心，这是由美国整个国家的经济和政治特征所决定的。过去25年几乎不间断的对外战争，致使美国联邦政府债务急剧扩大，军工、高科技及金融部门获利丰厚，而其他大部分经济部门却越来越难以为工薪阶层提供高薪工作，经济不平等已达到了令人难以置信的程度。据最新调查报告，盖茨、巴菲特和贝佐斯（亚马逊总裁）三人的净资产合计为2485亿美元，超过美国半数人口的财富总和。社会惊人地分裂，导致民主政治同样惊人地急速衰败，共和党和民主党都因内部冲突而四分五裂，国家政治权力落入一个由商界精英、高级将领和情报官员组成的小集团之手，特朗普则是这一势力的最新代表。与奥巴马时期相比，当前美国的政治气氛更混乱，权势集团也更保守、更右倾。为转移国内的政治压力，为军工部门寻求利润来源的需要，为笼络亚洲旧有的各种反华势力，美国不会轻易放弃围堵中国。

托马斯•库恩关于科学革命的重要思想是：在革命时期，世界发生变革，理论本身也必须变化；每一个理论都适用于其自身所属的世界，而不适用于先前的或后继的世界；不同时期的理论之间不可通约，也就是说不能用同一尺度来衡量。当今世界正处于一场巨大的社会革命和科学革命之中，许多前所未闻的情况和各种全新局面正陆续呈现，中国崛起只是整个世界变革的一个侧面。未来的中美关系必然是一种新事物，其深度和广度是以往任何双边关系都无可比拟的，因而需要一种与以往不同的、蕴涵更丰富的理论来明晰地阐释。

在战略层面，中国显然比美国更为理性和明智。多年来，中国一直在酝酿新时期中美关系的新定位。霸权强调政治手段，着重于对他国的控制，属于旧时代观念。中国则致力于发展经济主导的外交，通过增进各国间的沟通和理解，有效满足各国的不同需要和复杂的利益考虑，最终现实互利互惠、合作共赢的目标。人类的历史就是经济手段不断战胜政治手段的历史，仅从这一点来看，美国的围堵政策也是难以成功的。

中美两国作为“印太”地区最强的两支力量，存在着绝对的并行性。目前两国在这一地区的力量基本上是对称的，互不相逊，平分秋色。今后几十年里，中美两国也会无可避免地以各种形式相冲撞。只有冲撞，才能使二者相互磨合，相互交织，相互界定。通过冲撞，力量的双方都会适应和调整，各自对原有的目标和动机进行修正，从而在相互作用、相互支撑中实现新的稳定。

The theme of US President Donald Trump's Asia trip was to continue rebalancing to Asia to contain a rising China. One important difference between Trump and Obama in this respect is the former's use of the term “Indo-Pacific” instead of the traditional “Asia Pacific.” Asia is the world's most robust economic development zone and links Africa and Europe. The American strategy has long been reconstructing the containment framework of the Cold War to use against China, which enables the US to enjoy to the benefits of economic growth in the region and to sustain its global hegemony as long as possible.

An important outcome of Trump's visit was an enhanced US-Japan-ROK military alliance against North Korea. During Trump's visit, both Japan and the ROK promised to buy more sophisticated weapons from the US. Japan plans to purchase fifth-generation fighter-bombers, sea-based interceptor missiles, Aegis-equipped naval vessels and land-based Aegis defense systems. The ROK will purchase high-tech reconnaissance assets, missiles, submarines and various other modern weapons. By selling these weapons to Japan and ROK, the US will put in place the elements of its strategic missile defense system in Asia. Undoubtedly China will be the system's primary target.

At the APEC Summit held at Da Nang, Vietnam, Trump claimed the US will propose new bilateral partnerships to all countries in the Indo-Pacific so as to consolidate friendship and trade and to increase prosperity and security. The use of the term “Indo-Pacific” suggests the US will openly pursue the creation of an economic and military alliance, including pulling India in, to counterbalance China. In the past few years, Japan has been at the forefront of the Australia-India-Japan-US defense dialogue, which is designed to strengthen Indo-Pacific maritime security cooperation.

Containing China is at the core of America's Asia strategy. It is the result of America's economic and political features. The almost non-stop foreign wars it fought in the past 25 years led to a drastic increase in federal debt. While the military-industrial complex, high-tech, and financial sectors have made handsome profits, it is increasingly difficult for the working class to find well-paid jobs in most other sectors. According to the latest survey results, the net assets of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos total $248.5 billion, more than the total wealth owned by over half of the American population. The society is shockingly divided, leading to a rapid decay of democratic politics. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are highly divided by internal conflicts. National political power has fallen into the hands of a small group of business elites, high-ranking generals and intelligence officers, and Trump is the latest addition to this group. Compared with during the Obama administration, the current political atmosphere in the US is more chaotic and the establishment is more conservative and right-wing. The US will continue to contain China to redirect domestic political pressure and to generate profit for the military-industrial complex.

According to Thomas Kuhn, during revolutions, the world changes and theories must also change; each theory is applicable to the world it belongs to but not to the ones that precede or follow; theories of different times may not be measured with the same yardstick. The world today is undergoing an enormous social and scientific revolution, with many new paradigms emerging. The rise of China is only one aspect of the world revolution. The new China-US relationship will surely be unprecedented. It thus requires a new theory to explain it.

At the strategic level, China is obviously more rational and sensible. For years, China has been deliberating a new orientation for China-US relations in the new era. Hegemons set their eyes on controlling other countries through political means, but this is an idea of a bygone age. China, on the other hand, is committed to developing a diplomacy guided by economics, effectively satisfying countries' different needs by enhancing communication and understanding. The history of mankind has seen economics repeatedly defeat politics. This is why it will be very hard for America's containment policy to be successful.

China and the US, the two strongest forces in the “Indo-Pacific,” must coexist. Their forces in the region are basically symmetrical and balanced. In the coming decades, the two countries will certainly clash. These clashes will define both countries and intertwine them more closely. As a result of these clashes, the two sides will adapt and adjust. They will revise their original objectives and motives, thus realizing a new stability.