ABSTRACT
Due to China’s assertive diplomacy in
maritime space, nationalism, de-scribed as an element of a “newly assertive
China”, arouses concern among Americans. With Donald Trump, who caters to both
the far left and the far right, becoming the 45th US president, China-US
relations have entered a period of historic uncertainty. There has been
speculation that nationalism is rising in both China and the United States,
which will have a profound effect on bilateral relations. Does nationalism play
an essential role in China-US relations? In order to respond to this question,
this essay explains the different meanings of democracy in China and the United
States, and then analyzes these two different kinds of democracy how to
influence the nationalism of those two countries. This essay also clarifies the
relationship between nationalism and interests. We can find that international
politics is inseparable from domestic politics. China’s nationalism tends to be
a political appeal from top leaders to the public, which can be guided by
power. Although Chinese nationalism may play a small role in bilateral
diplomatic activities, Chinese foreign policy is interest-oriented. By
comparison, checks and balances are a cornerstone of the power structure in
America. Even with “uncertain Trump” as the leader of America, policy making in
the US will not materially change a lot. Thus, we find that interests, China’s
party-state system, checks and balances in America make both sides prudent and
rational, and nationalism cannot play a decisive role in China-US relations.