Why US and China need each other

African folklore teaches that everyone suffers when the two biggest bulls fight

On a recent trip to the United States I was curious about the Chinese residents of Allentown, a medium-sized city 80 kilometers north-northwest of Philadelphia.

Having been to Allentown on a previous visit, I realized nothing had changed. It seems most of the ethnic Chinese living there still prefer to put their money in the restaurant business.

With hundreds of these restaurants in the area, it is no wonder Chinese cuisine has taken a strong hold of residents' palates. I learned that they have Chinese food often, and some restaurants offer buffets all day long. The fresh taste and convenience of the food is attractive, but so is the fact that, on average, the eateries are very pocket friendly.

The question that came to my mind then was whether it was true that Americans are uncomfortable with China's "influence" or "invasion" - depending on which side of the question you are on.

That was the subject of a discussion in April on CNN's Global Public Square program with host Fareed Zakaria. The guest was former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson, who spoke about US/China relations. Paulson has written a book, Dealing With China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower. This longtime expert on Chinese issues, who has been to China more than 100 times in recent years, starts his book by saying China is on the way to overtaking the US as the "strongest economy" in the world.

But Paulson also warns of a faltering vision of the future if China does not take stock of economic patterns and enact more sustainable methods to grow as the Chinese people become richer. In the short but compelling interview, Paulson brought to light the fallacies of US supremacy and challenged the superpower to stop viewing China as a threat and instead focus on enacting policy initiatives that would revitalize its slowing economy.

From my African perspective, I am taken back to age-old folklore, which leads me to agree with Paulson that the US can thrive while China thrives, too. Zakaria picked up on Paulson's point that there is as much danger in overemphasizing China's strength as in underestimating its potential.

Therefore, Americans need not lose sleep over whether China is growing faster or slower than them but know that each state is developing at their own pace. What is crucial is the need to support each other, not only to continue to thrive as individual economies but also to support the growth of smaller economies like those in Africa and around the globe.

Surely, the US cannot just wake up and demolish all buildings and build new ones, with China busy putting up half the buildings in the world and changing itself into a modern state. Similarly, China cannot just stay put - the millions of people who need housing and other necessities increase by the day and there is a need to respond.

Though Paulson's book and indeed his sentiments as a longtime advocate of cordial US-China relations have sparked an outcry from many quarters, I give him the thumbs up. As an African, it is inherent in tradition and folklore that it is not advantageous for the two biggest bulls to fight because of the damage they cause. Both bulls become injured in the fight and need time to recover, regardless of who wins.

And the grass, which in this case would refer to smaller economies like many in Asia and Africa, will suffer to a greater or lesser degree like the grass that the bulls were trampling while they were fighting.

Hence the objection to those rooting against China, and the admonition to be careful. China has been isolated from the table long enough and needs to be given a proper seat.

Paulson put it succinctly: "All our economic issues become greater if we do not have China contributing to global growth." The nations' leaders, therefore, need to talk more about strategic cooperation to make mutual benefit the ultimate goal.

The author is a communications strategy consultant in Kenya. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/12/2015 page11)