China-US confrontation not inevitable

Very recently, Yan Xuetong, one of China's leading strategic thinkers and dean of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University, and also the author of Ancient Chinese Thought, Modern Chinese Power, wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post in which he argued that US President Donald Trump "can't start a Cold War with China".

However, the usual question asked is: Will Trump start a war with China?

Let's try to answer this question first and then move to Yan's thesis that Trump cannot start a war with China.