世界是丰富多彩的，这源于不同生物种群与自然界的和谐共处。可以说，共处是这个世界的一种实然状态，也应该是一种自然、应然的状态。从人类社会发展史来说，各个不同种族、民族的具有不同历史文化背景、深处不同发展阶段的人们相互交往，共同创造着璀璨的人类文明。从政治层面来讲，君主制、共和制、人民民主专政等不同政体的国家构成了如今的国际社会，它们或走资本主义道路，或走社会主义道路，但无论采用何种政体、国体，这些国家都同属于这个世界。从这个意义上来说，不同社会文化、制度体系和发展道路的选择不应成为国家间相互争斗的缘由，而应成为它们相互借鉴、共同推进人类文明进步的动力。

当今世界正处于百年未有之大变局。站在人类文明发展的角度，这既带来了挑战，又孕育着机遇，关键在于如何选择。作为世界上最重要的、最具代表性的两个大国，中美关系的形态与发展趋向对于人类文明的演进无疑具有重大影响，这也是国际社会对两国关系走向保持高度关切的重要原因。毋庸讳言，当前中美关系面临着重大挑战，未来发展方向存在很大不确定性。不过，有一点是确定的，那就是中美将长期共处，只是长期共处的方式与状态在不同的政策选择之下会有不同的表现。

历史上，中美经历了四种共处形态：敌对性共处、合作性共处、竞争性共处、斗争性共处。在冷战大环境下，自中华人民共和国成立后，中美便进入敌对性共处状态，两国甚至一度兵戎相见。即便在此情境下，双方的交流互动也没有完全断裂。1972年尼克松总统访华，中美关系正常化进程开启，尤其是在1979年中美建交后，双边关系进入合作性共处阶段，双方在经济、安全、科技、人文交流等方面的互动频密，甚至一度形成所谓“准同盟”关系。当然，即使在这一段“蜜月”期，中美也存在着诸多矛盾，甚至在某些问题上尖锐对立。

冷战结束后，中美关系进入竞争性共处阶段，其主要特点是竞争与合作并存，即“竞合”。当然，“竞合性关系”的形成并非一蹴而就，而是经历了20世纪90年代的反复较量、磨合之后方才确定下来。这一时期又可以划分为两个阶段，即合作性竞争阶段与竞争性合作阶段，前者主要是从“911”事件后到奥巴马政府第一任期，双边关系以合作为主，合作大于竞争。2005年小布什政府提出“负责任利益攸关方”的中美关系新定位，2011年中美联合声明强调双方“共同努力建设相互尊重、互利共赢的合作伙伴关系”，这些战略定位均反映出这一点。竞争性合作阶段主要是奥巴马政府第二任期，主要表现为美方大力推进将平衡中国影响力作为主要目的之一的“亚太再平衡战略”，以及2015年美国《国家安全战略报告》提出将应对大国战略竞争作为优先任务。这一时期双方关系的竞争性一面增强，尤其是围绕南海问题、网络安全等展开了激烈博弈。

2017年特朗普政府执政后，中美关系进入震荡期，尤其是2017年12月美国《国家安全战略报告》明确将中国界定为主要战略竞争者，继而在贸易、安全、科技、人文交流等诸多领域对华发难，使中美关系进入斗争性共处时期。这一时期的主要特点是以竞争为主，甚至出现了一定程度的对抗，但也不放弃可能的合作。特朗普政府采取“全政府”对华战略，并进行了一定程度的国内动员与国际动员。在此背景下，中美关系经历了前所未有的挫折，也为双边关系的改善设置了重重障碍，这预示着两国关系回暖恐非一日之功。

然而，事在人为，关键在于美方的战略抉择。中国奉行独立自主的和平外交政策，独立自主是中国外交的核心原则，这意味着中国将坚定不移地维护主权、安全、发展利益，将坚定不移地按照既定战略推进现代化进程，而不会被外部因素所干扰，也不会被带乱节奏。维护与促进世界和平是中国外交的宗旨，这意味着中国寻求与不同社会制度、意识形态的国家在以《联合国宪章》原则精神为核心的普遍国际规范基础上长期和平共处，当然包括与美国长期和平共处。实际上，不论美国政府如何更迭，中国对美外交的原则与立场始终如一，即推动构建不冲突不对抗、相互尊重、合作共赢的新型关系模式。这种新型关系模式符合中美双方的根本利益，也符合国际社会的共同期待。

不过，这个愿景能否实现要仰赖中美两国的共同努力。让人忧虑的是，拜登政府似仍在延续特朗普政府对华政策，甚至有更进一步之嫌。日前有媒体报道，美国参议院外交关系委员会将讨论并表决一项两党共同推动的所谓《2021年战略竞争法案》，以彰显与加强美国对抗中国的能力与决心。如今，球在美国脚下，未来中美关系是迈进到合作性共处，还是恶化到敌对性共处，关键变量在于美国对华战略判断与政策选择。拜登政府能否做出有利于促进人类文明进步的历史性抉择，我们拭目以待。

A diverse and colorful world is rooted in the peaceful coexistence of different species within the natural world. That said, coexistence should be a real and natural state. In terms of the human development, people of different races and ethnicities, of different historical and cultural backgrounds and at different levels of development, have communicated and interacted with one another to jointly create splendid human civilizations.From a political point of view, the international community comprises countries having different forms of government — monarchies, republics and people's democratic dictatorships. They may choose to embark on the capitalist or socialist road, but whatever form of government and state they may choose, they are all part of the same world. In this sense, the choice of the form of society and culture, political system and road of development should not be a cause of rivalry but a driving force for learning from each other and jointly advancing the development of human civilization.

The world is undergoing changes unseen in a century. From the point of view of the development of human civilizations, it brings both challenges and opportunities, and the key is how we make a choice. Relations between the two most important and representative big powers in the world, China and the U.S., will without doubt produce significant impacts on the evolution of human civilization. This explains why the international community is highly concerned about the trends in relations between the two nations.There is no question that China-U.S. relations face big challenges, and there is also great uncertainty about development trends. But one thing is certain: China and the U.S. will coexist, although the ways and state of long-term coexistence may vary when different policies are chosen.

In their history, China and the U.S. have witnessed four kinds of coexistence: hostile coexistence, cooperative coexistence, competitive coexistence and belligerent coexistence. During the Cold War, China and the U.S. were drawn into the stage of hostile coexistence immediately after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, and they even fought a war. Even under those circumstances, their exchanges and interactions did not come to a complete standstill. The China visit by President Richard Nixon in 1972 kick-started the normalization process of bilateral relations, which entered into a state of cooperative coexistence after normalization in 1979.The two countries then had frequent interactions on all fronts, including economy, security, science and technology, culture and people-to-people exchanges, and they even developed a sort of quasi-alliance. Even during this honeymoon period, China and the U.S. also had many conflicts, and on some issues, very serious ones.

When the Cold War ended, China-U.S. relations moved into a stage of competitive coexistence characterized by the simultaneous existence of competition and cooperation. In other words, it could be defined by the coined term “coopetition.” But the stage of coopetition did not come readily, as it was established after the two countries had undergone continuous wrestling and tussling in the 1990s.This stage could then be divided into two periods: cooperative competition and competitive cooperation. The first lasted from the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001 to the first term of the Barack Obama administration, with cooperation outdoing competition. The manifestation of this period included the new positioning of China-U.S. relations as “responsible stakeholders” put forward by the George W. Bush administration in 2005, and the strategic positioning highlighted in the China-U.S. Joint Statement in 2011 emphasizing the commitment “to working together to build a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.”The period of competitive cooperation referred mainly to Obama's second term. Its main features were the U.S. strategy of rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific, a strategy aimed at countering China's growing influence, as well as the tasks to deal with major power competition as put forth in the 2015 National Security Strategy. During this period, competition became more fierce, and on issues such as South China Sea and cybersecurity, the two sides were even engaged in intense and cutthroat tussling and wrestling.

In 2017 when President Donald Trump came to power, China-U.S. relations developed into a stage of turbulence, in particular when the U.S. defined China as a “strategic competitor” in the National Security Strategy released in December 2017. Then the U.S. began toughening its stance on China on all fronts, including trade, security, science, technology, culture and people-to-people exchange, and bilateral relations entered a stage of belligerent coexistence. The main feature of this stage was competition, sometimes even confrontation, but they still did not neglect any possibility for cooperation.The Trump administration adopted a whole-of-government approach toward China, and to some extent, maneuvered domestically and internationally to counter or contain China. Against this backdrop, China-U.S. relations witnessed unprecedented setbacks, and the U.S. side created numerous obstacles for bilateral ties, blocking improvement and signaling that it would take time for bilateral relations to rebound to normalcy.

But how China-U.S. relations develop, in a sense, depends on the strategic choices of the U.S. alone. China pursues and upholds an independent foreign policy of peace, with independence as the core principle of its foreign policy. Under this principle, China resolutely safeguards its sovereignty, security and development interests and pushes forward the modernization process in line with the established strategy without being distracted or disrupted by external factors.With safeguarding and promoting world peace as the core tenet of China's foreign policy, China will, on the basis of the commonly recognized international norms as reflected by the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, seek long-term peaceful coexistence with countries of different social systems and ideology.No doubt, that also includes seeking long-term peaceful coexistence with the U.S. As a matter of fact, China has remained consistent in its foreign policy principles and stance in dealing with the U.S., regardless of the changes of the U.S. administration — that is, seeking to build a new model of relations featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. The new model accords with the best interests of both sides and is also the common expectation of the international community.

Whether this vision can materialize, however, relies on joint efforts by both countries. What is worrysome is that the Joe Biden administration is sticking to the China policy of the Trump administration and in some ways is even more confrontational. It has been reported that the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee will deliberate and endorse the bipartisan Strategic Competition Act of 2021, which aims to show and strengthen the U.S. capacity and resolve in countering China.Now, the ball is in the court of the U.S. Whether China-U.S. relations will develop toward a state of cooperative coexistence or worsen to a stage of hostile coexistence, the critical factor will be the strategic judgement and policy choices of the U.S. itself. Let's wait and see if the Biden administration can make a historic decision that will promote the advancement of human civilization.