Recent interactions between the US, Russia and China have been frequent. On the Ukraine crisis, the US threatened to impose sanctions on Russia and called on European countries to reduce their reliance on Russian natural gas. On the sovereignty disputes in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, the US has issued statements that are heavily partial, and directed accusations against China of "provocation". And now the US has begun to play the "network security" card by inventing stories and indicting five Chinese military officers.

These incidents have provoked a discussion on the following question: how can the big powers coexist comfortably?

Facing an aggressive US, China and Russia have responded with composure, and just as the US feared, become closer. Lately, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to China and the two countries made an important joint statement, expressing common views on the Ukraine crisis, information security, the multilateral cooperation mechanism, and other urgent issues. At the same time, China and Russia conducted joint military exercises on both land and sea.

As a result, the conflict of interests among big powers is becoming a concern for the international community. The situation has been exaggerated by some media - "the new-type great power relationship between China and the US hangs by a thread", "China and Russia joint hands to fight against the US", and "the new cold-war has begun", etc. In fact, we all know that once world peace and stability is broken, none of the big powers will emerge as the winner. In the current situation, it is better to think about how to get along.

Firstly, the big powers should respect each other. To further its own interests, the US has interfered with China's rightful actions in maintaining territorial sovereignty on many occasions, under the pretext of "international rules" and "freedom of navigation". The new-type great power relationship between China and the US should be based on equality and mutual benefit, but the US expectation that China will demonstrate sincerity and make a contribution apears to be unilateral. Relying on its superiority in information technology, the US has legitimized its own monitoring activities, and now accuses China of cyber espionage. The US should reflect on these issues.

Secondly, big powers should be tolerant. Countries nowadays must throw away the old "zero sum" mentality. The world is big enough to sustain the common development of all countries. China has never sought and never will seek regional dominance or exclusive control, while the US always appears on high alert for any cooperation between China and its neighbors, and declares that the US-Japan alliance should "play a key role in ensuring the peace and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region".

Finally, big powers should press forward with their own mutual cooperation. Currently, no country is able to develop its economy and maintain its security on its own. Strengthening cooperation should be the inevitable choice of all countries.

No country can achieve absolute satisfaction in international relations. Realism and compromise between all countries can ensure a stable situation. Keeping the balance between big powers is especially important when their relative strengths are changing. It takes wisdom to find the comfort zone. 

The article is edited and translated from《中美俄三国如何舒适相处》, source: People's Daily Overseas Edition, author: Su Xiaohui.