| President Donald Trump has been in power for nearly four years,bringing unexpected changes to the United States and the whole world.Under the guidance of its principles of "America first" and "transactionism",Trump administration has repeatedly played a combination of tricks:withdrawal,building walls,and trade wars,which are constantly challenging the international order established by the United States since the end of World War II.The U.S.government frequently combats not only the so-called "adversaries" and "threats",but also its traditional allies,which greatly damaged the hard power and soft power of the United States,and at the same time it has become the biggest unstable factor in the world.Under the background of the spread of COVID-19,the Trump administration did not choose to cooperate with China or other countries and international organizations.Instead,it went further and further on the road of "withdrawal" and "unilateralism",and accelerated the comprehensive suppression and containment of China.Sino-US relations fell to the lowest point since the end of the cold war.A clear understanding of Trump’s grand strategy and China’s strategy under its framework is particularly important for China to cope with the pessimistic Sino-US relations.Since Trump came to power,a series of conservative measures have been taken,such as stimulating the economy through tax cuts and deregulation,greatly increasing the national defense budget,and promoting peace with strength.In particular,he has repeatedly compared himself in public with Ronald Reagan,the 40th president of the United States,which makes it easy for others to link their policies.To a large extent,it is Reagan and "Reagan Revolution" that define the basic characteristics of contemporary American conservatism.As a result,President Reagan has become the symbolic leader of contemporary American Conservatism and the leader of making all major factions coexist harmoniously and serving the same goal."Reagan Revolution"has brought great and lasting influence and change to the politics,society,economy and diplomacy of the United States,and some influences have not yet faded away.A series of measures such as tax reduction and deregulation adopted by the Reagan administration helped the United States out of the economic predicament and laid the foundation for the United States to win the cold war,but at the same time,it also brought hidden dangers to American politics,economy and society:Deregulation and abandonment of the government’s intervention in the market have resulted in the loss of the government’s function of regulating and reversing the uneven distribution of income.The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer.The polarization is serious.The social channels for upward mobility are increasingly stagnant.The contradictions between the elite and the common people,anti-globalists and supporters of globalization are becoming increasingly irreconcilable.The accumulated social contradictions and the increasingly serious political tear have led to the rise of"political outsider" like Trump.Based on the official documents(mainly including state of the Union address,national security report,inaugural addresses and some public addresses)issued by the two administrations,from the perspective of contemporary American conservatism,this paper compares and analyzes in turn the overall framework of grand strategies,the strategies for their main competitors,and regional strategies of the Reagan administration and the Trump administration,and it also evaluates and compares the implementation results of the grand strategies of the two administrations,aiming to answer the following questions:1.What is the grand strategy and what elements does it include?2.What are the similarities and differences between Reagan’s and Trump’s grand strategies?3.What are the results of the implementation of the grand strategies of the two administrations?4.What are the impacts of conservatism on American global strategy,what are the characteristics of conservatism in Trump’s era,and what implications will these impacts and characteristics bring to China in dealing with the complicated Sino US relations?The global strategy discussed in this paper refers to the grand strategy.The grand strategy itself is mainly composed of six elements:its own international positioning,national interests,national specific goals,external threats,the strength to rely on and method to achieve it.Because of the influence of conservatism,there are many similarities in its own international positioning,the strategic objectives,strength to rely on and methods to achieve it between the two administrations,especially the strategies for the main competitors.At the same time,there are many differences in the grand strategies of the two administrations.Some of the biggest differences are:different definitions of the connotation of economic prosperity in national interests and goals;different definitions of the main opponents and different policies towards allies.The implementation results of the grand strategy of the two administrations are quite different.Judging from the two major goals of the Reagan Administration’s grand strategy,namely,to restore the economy and defeat the Soviet Union,the implementation effect of the grand strategy is remarkable,which can be said to be a successful grand strategy,but the grand strategy of trump administration is generally unsuccessful.From the perspective of "economic priority",one of the main objectives of the strategy,it is difficult to say that the implementation result has achieved the goal.Although the economic situation of the United States in the first three years of Trump’s administration was generally satisfactory,due to the inertia effect of economic growth,the American economy has shown a growth trend during the Obama period,it’s unknown that to what extent the economic growth in the first half of Trump’s term can be attributed to the tax cuts and deregulation implemented by Trump in the first half of his term of office.What’s more,the outbreak of COVID-19 has ripped off the economic results of the United States that trump once believed would score for his re-election.From the perspective of its strategy to deal with the threat,the trump administration has not achieved its expected goals.Now Trump’s term of office is coming to an end,but there is no less than one of the three major threats defined in the 2017 NSS report,but there is a growing trend.The difference in the implementation results of the two administrations’ grand strategies is mainly caused by the differences in the personalities of the two presidents,the domestic situation and the international environment faced by the two presidents.Although the domestic and foreign environments faced by the two administrations are similar,the differences are more striking,and the personalities such as personality,world outlook and governing style of the two presidents are quite different,which will inevitably lead to difference in the implementation results.By comparing the grand strategies of the two administrations,it can be inferred that a successful conservative grand strategy must be based on the successful solution of domestic problems.In addition,the similarities of the grand strategies of the two administrations also show that,compared with liberalism,the influence of conservatism on the global strategy of the United States is mainly reflected in the way of promoting the grand strategy.Since Trump came to power,American politics has increasingly reflected the style of conservatives,even "Trump style".Compared with the conservative ideas of Reagan period,the conservative ideas of Trump administration have the same origin,such as the same emphasis on strong national defense policy,cautious attitude towards military intervention,and strong anti-Communist color.At the same time,Trump’s conservatism concept also has distinct "Trump characteristics".As far as the existence of "Trumpism" is concerned,it describes a political tendency to be skeptical about overseas commitments,international trade and unrestricted immigration,and it is more worried about China’s rise than the other threats defined by the United States.Therefore,under the guidance of the Trump administration’s China strategy,Sino-US relations continue to be tense.In the face of the comprehensive containment and suppression of China by the United States,Sino-US relations have fallen into a low ebb.In order to avoid a full-scale confrontation between China and the United States,or even the outbreak of large-scale military conflicts,China should focus on its own economic development,resolutely defend globalization and multilateralism,seize the opportunity in the Sino-US game,and reposition bilateral relations,"strive for peace through struggle".At the same time,China and the United States should also go towards each other,establish a correct public opinion orientation,and adhere to communication in multiple fields and at multiple levels. |
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