众所周知，中美关系出现对抗，往往与美国认为中美关系是零和对立的观念有关。美国认为中美崛起与衰落之间存在对立关系。笔者认为，这是完全错误的看法。

一、经济总量与综合实力的悖论。中美GDP总量和综合实力差距尚远。2017年，美国GDP全球占比约为24.32%，而中国GDP全球占比为14.84%。美国GDP总量约是中国的两倍多。从综合实力来看，中美差距显著。中国还是地区性大国，美国是全球性大国。军事上美国领先中国20年。中国军费不到美国的1/3。中国人口是美国四倍。从综合实力和人均GDP看，美国都遥遥领先于中国。由此，中国实力进一步提升并不必然意味着中美冲突可能性的上升，也不意味着中国将随着实力的变化而变得更有挑衅性。

二、中美两国实力消长的对立论。从另一角度看，美国实力或影响力的下降也并非是由于中国崛起所造成的。美国衰落与中国崛起并不必然具有对应关系。中国崛起与美国的相关性不恰当地被扭曲夸大。2008年美国陷入持续性金融危机，这成为导致美国经济实力甚至是综合实力下降的新拐点。但这一危机是由于美国国内信贷系统出现问题，同时也是由于美国发动伊拉克战争所带来的巨大财政赤字所致，与中国经济飞速发展没有直接关系。

三、国际影响力的零和博弈悖论。至于美国在国际事务影响力的下降，更非中国掣肘所致。与之相反的是，中国在诸如反恐、反核扩散等重大国际事务中一直与美国展开积极的合作。特朗普上台后，美国出于推卸责任、减少成本的目的，退出联合国教科文组织、联合国人权理事会、巴黎气候变化协定和奥巴马时期倡导的TPP，这更非中国因素所致，而美国进行责任外包和责任转移的结果。美国采取贸易保护主义，主动减少了对经济全球化的影响。

战争方式作用的下降以及美国对战争手段的反思，也是美国影响力降减的原因之一。美国军事干预能力的下降被认为是美国国际影响力下降的重要标志，而这一点与中国国力的上升没有相关性。美国国际影响力下降的原因是多重、多方面的，美国不可能如二战结束后那样为所欲为。国际事务更加复杂，美国自身管理理念和手段更新不足，传统方式不足以应对新威胁等等，都造成了美国国际影响力的下降。此外美国也主动减少对国际组织和国际机构的影响。将美国影响力下降归于中国影响力上升是没有道理的。

从中美无法分割的相互依存程度进行分析也可以得出结论：美国衰落并不意味着中国的崛起，美国衰落中国也会被削弱。中国无法从美国的衰落进程中获益。中美相互依存关系是十分重要的。当中美关系运行良好的时候，其意义并不一定完全展现，但中美关系出现问题，尤其是国际社会出现危机或热点时，中美关系的重要性则会充分体现出来。

中美的相互依存是新时期中美两国共同促进的，中美关系是共生共荣共赢的关系，是一荣俱荣一损俱损的关系。

The confrontation between China and the US is rooted in a zero-sum competition mindset, as some in the US believe that China's rise will inevitably come at the expense of the US. The author begs to differ.

In terms of aggregate economic output as well as comprehensive national strength, China still lags behind the US by a large margin. In 2017, the US accounted for 24.32% of global GDP, while China accounted for 14.84%, meaning the US produced twice as much as China in GDP terms. When it comes to comprehensive national strength, China is at best a regional power, while the US remains a global power. While China has a population four times larger than the US, the US leads China in the military domain by approximately 20 years, and spends thrice as much on defense. In aggregate and per capita terms, the US is far ahead of China. That means a stronger China will not necessarily result in a more assertive China, nor up the odds of confrontation with the US.

The 2008 global financial crisis plunged the US into prolonged chaos, and presented a downward inflection for the US, which is attributable to the credit excesses in the US and the fiscal deficit-inducing Iraq war, rather than as a direct outcome of China's growth and development.

China is not responsible for the diminished US influence in world affairs. Rather, China has been reaching out to the US to cooperate on major international affairs such as counter terrorism and nonproliferation. The Trump administration has taken the US out of an array of international obligations, including the UNESCO，UN Human Rights Council, the Paris agreement, and the TPP, primarily driven by a passing-the-buck approach to international affairs and inward looking policy considerations such as protectionism. The US chose to lessen its footprint on its own accord.

Also, the US' military intervention leads to reduced influence around the world. There are multiple reasons behind the perceived decline of American influence, especially compared with the immediate years after WWII. The US has not come up with new approaches in line with an ever evolving world teeming with new threats.

China and the US have a highly interdependent relationship, and American decline does not mean Chinese ascendancy. Neither would one benefit from decline of the other. When everything runs smoothly, the critical importance of a good China US relationship may be taken for granted, but it will come to the fore when pressing global issues call for cooperation and coordination between the two powers.

The two countries are bound together by ever expanding shared interests.