A rising China has changed the bilateral balance, but neither China nor the United States has sufficient experience or approaches for dealing with the other. Competition could easily lead to confrontation.

Putting yourself in others’ shoes may bring surprises. A China expert explores what makes countries tick, and what drives their perceptions.

A worsening relationship is probably unavoidable if the two countries adhere to their current domestic choices. If they want better ties, both need to make adjustments, but that seems unlikely.

He Yafei, a leading scholar of American studies in China, spoke with China-US Focus host James Chau in Hong Kong on Nov. 15. The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

This year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to poverty reduction. In the Nobel Committee’s view, the economists’ use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), a method adapted from medical sciences, to test whether specific interventions work has “considerably improved our ability to fight global poverty.”

In the ideal scenario of “co-opetition,” China and the US should find a new model for interaction: maintaining necessary, mutually beneficial co-operation while managing unavoidable but benign competition.

Its new ideas and approaches are broadly beneficial and have already involved many countries, even as the United States and others have tried to impede progress for selfish reasons.

There’s a disconnect between the stance of America’s China policy elites and the views of the general public. Most people want cooperation, not major-power competition. The White House should face that reality.

As during the Cold War, the US must ‘forge ahead’ by cultivating top-tier talent and preserving its central national security and geo-economic interests through expanded federal funding programs. Otherwise, Beijing will spend its way to global supremacy.

Since its founding, the country has charted its own path based on socialism’s best practices. It needs to keep learning and improving.