China may not have US－style presidential elections， but their leaders face strong internal pressures too. In fact， the orientation of the Chinese leadership is primarily domestic. They know they have major issues to deal with at home. These include unevenly distributed growth， significant rural poverty， an aging population， and rising expectations for a better quality of life.
Both sides are sensitive about being perceived as weak. Out of political necessity， the US wants to show that it has come out ahead in any deal. On the other side， because of China’s long history with the West， its leaders cannot afford to appear to succumb to Western pressure to accept an
“unequal” treaty. Just a few weeks ago， China commemorated the centennial of the May 4 movement. In 1919， at the Versailles Peace
Conference， a feeble China was forced to accept the decisions of the big powers. This caused Peking University students to demonstrate in protest，launching a nationalist movement to modernise and revive the country. This was a seminal moment in modern Chinese history.
This zero－sum dynamic makes it very hard to construct an agreement that is politically acceptable to both parties. But ultimately it is in the
interests of both the US and China to reach such an accommodation， and to persuade their domestic publics to accept it. They both need to keep their relationship steady， so that both can focus on their respective pressing domestic priorities， and not be distracted by troubled relations with the other. |
