Zheng Yongnian on China-US realism and battling for the upper hand before the next summit
Por Orange Wang,Carol Yang — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement 2026 Xi-Trump summits China Diplomacy Exclusive Zheng Yongnian on China-US realism and battling for the upper hand before the next summit
Political scientist evaluates China-US relations, AI dialogue, and why head-of-state diplomacy remains vital for global stability
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Orange Wang and Carol Yang in Beijing Published: 6:00am, 5 Oct 2026 Zheng Yongnian is a political scientist in China and a government adviser. His academic work is mainly about contemporary China, particularly politics, the country’s transformation and its external relations. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus . For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here . Many have offered a lukewarm assessment of the Xi-Trump summit in Washington , citing the lack of a breakthrough. What is your take?
There are two primary views right now. One is nihilism, which holds that China and the US are ultimately bound to fight for global dominance – that the world isn’t big enough for two superpowers. The other is idealism, which expects all differences to be resolved in a single step.
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