An unpredictable US may cause mishaps

Donald Trump said he likes to be unpredictable. Indeed, he has been successful in confusing enemies, allies and partners alike. He said China has stolen American jobs and threatened to slap a 45 percent import tariff on Chinese goods. He had a phone conversation with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen – the first of its kind since 1979, and he said that the US doesn't have to be bound by a one-China policy unless it can make a deal with China on other things.

But a Chinese spokesman has already made it clear that if the one-China principle is not upheld, the development of China-US relations and bilateral cooperation in important areas is out of the question. Today China's economy already accounts for 63 percent of that of the United States. Should Trump initiate a trade war between the two largest economies in the world, China won't be the only loser.

However, there are things that could put China and the US on a collision course. The fear is that incidents, such as a Chinese J-8 fighter's collision with a US EP-3 in 2001 or the standoff between the USNS Impeccable and the USS Cowpens with Chinese vessels in 2009 and 2013, and the deadly close encounter between a Chinese J-11B fighter with a USN P-8 Poseidon in 2014, could see the two giants "sleepwalking" into a war. An incident between China and Japan around the disputed islands in the East China Sea or in their overlapping Air Defense Identification Zones could also lead to a conflict that involves the US as Japan's ally.