美國總統特朗普亞洲之行的主題，是繼續推進奧巴馬“重返亞洲”和“亞洲再平衡”戰略，以遏制正在崛起的中國。在亞洲戰略方面，特朗普與奧巴馬的一個重要區別在於他使用的是“印太地區”（Indo-Pacific）一詞，而不是傳統上的“亞太地區”（Asia-Pacific）。實際上，奧巴馬所用的“亞洲”概念，指的也是圍繞中國周邊的東海、南海及印度洋海域各國。這一區域構成了當今世界最強勁的一條經濟發展帶，同時也是亞洲、非洲和歐洲之間的交通幹道。美國的戰略一直是謀求重新構築冷戰圍堵框架，在遏制與平衡中國崛起的同時，也使美國能最大程度地分享這一地區的經濟發展成果，儘可能長時間地維繫美國的全球霸權地位。

特朗普此次亞洲行的重要成果之一，是利用朝鮮核問題，強化了美日韓軍事同盟。特朗普到訪期間，日本和韓國都承諾將花費巨資購買美國更多的高端武器。日本計劃購買第五代殲擊轟炸機、海基型攔截導彈、配備“宙斯盾”作戰系統的軍艦以及陸基“宙斯盾”反導系統。韓國將購買美國高技術偵察裝備、導彈、核潛艇及其他各種最新式武器。通過向日韓出售新的尖端武器，美國最終將建成戰略反導系統的亞洲段。毫無疑問，這套系統所針對的主要目標是中國。

在越南峴港亞太經合組織（APEC）峰會上，特朗普表示，美國要向印太地區所有國家提出新的雙邊夥伴關係，以鞏固友誼及貿易，並推廣繁榮及安全。特朗普正式使用“印太”概念，意味着美國將公開致力於謀求組建更大範圍的經濟和軍事同盟，尤其是要把印度拉入，以抗衡中國。過去幾年裡，是日本一直站在前台，力推旨在強化“印太海洋安全合作”的美日印澳“四方對話”計劃。

簡而言之，遏制中國始終是美國亞洲戰略的核心，這是由美國整個國家的經濟和政治特徵所決定的。過去25年幾乎不間斷的對外戰爭，致使美國聯邦政府債務急劇擴大，軍工、高科技及金融部門獲利豐厚，而其他大部分經濟部門卻越來越難以為工薪階層提供高薪工作，經濟不平等已達到了令人難以置信的程度。據最新調查報告，蓋茨、巴菲特和貝佐斯（亞馬遜總裁）三人的凈資產合計為2485億美元，超過美國半數人口的財富總和。社會驚人地分裂，導致民主政治同樣驚人地急速衰敗，共和黨和民主黨都因內部衝突而四分五裂，國家政治權力落入一個由商界精英、高級將領和情報官員組成的小集團之手，特朗普則是這一勢力的最新代表。與奧巴馬時期相比，當前美國的政治氣氛更混亂，權勢集團也更保守、更右傾。為轉移國內的政治壓力，為軍工部門尋求利潤來源的需要，為籠絡亞洲舊有的各種反華勢力，美國不會輕易放棄圍堵中國。

托馬斯•庫恩關於科學革命的重要思想是：在革命時期，世界發生變革，理論本身也必須變化；每一個理論都適用於其自身所屬的世界，而不適用於先前的或後繼的世界；不同時期的理論之間不可通約，也就是說不能用同一尺度來衡量。當今世界正處於一場巨大的社會革命和科學革命之中，許多前所未聞的情況和各種全新局面正陸續呈現，中國崛起只是整個世界變革的一個側面。未來的中美關係必然是一種新事物，其深度和廣度是以往任何雙邊關係都無可比擬的，因而需要一種與以往不同的、蘊涵更豐富的理論來明晰地闡釋。

在戰略層面，中國顯然比美國更為理性和明智。多年來，中國一直在醞釀新時期中美關係的新定位。霸權強調政治手段，着重於對他國的控制，屬於舊時代觀念。中國則致力於發展經濟主導的外交，通過增進各國間的溝通和理解，有效滿足各國的不同需要和複雜的利益考慮，最終現實互利互惠、合作共贏的目標。人類的歷史就是經濟手段不斷戰勝政治手段的歷史，僅從這一點來看，美國的圍堵政策也是難以成功的。

中美兩國作為“印太”地區最強的兩支力量，存在着絕對的並行性。目前兩國在這一地區的力量基本上是對稱的，互不相遜，平分秋色。今後幾十年里，中美兩國也會無可避免地以各種形式相衝撞。只有衝撞，才能使二者相互磨合，相互交織，相互界定。通過衝撞，力量的雙方都會適應和調整，各自對原有的目標和動機進行修正，從而在相互作用、相互支撐中實現新的穩定。

The theme of US President Donald Trump's Asia trip was to continue rebalancing to Asia to contain a rising China. One important difference between Trump and Obama in this respect is the former's use of the term “Indo-Pacific” instead of the traditional “Asia Pacific.” Asia is the world's most robust economic development zone and links Africa and Europe. The American strategy has long been reconstructing the containment framework of the Cold War to use against China, which enables the US to enjoy to the benefits of economic growth in the region and to sustain its global hegemony as long as possible.

An important outcome of Trump's visit was an enhanced US-Japan-ROK military alliance against North Korea. During Trump's visit, both Japan and the ROK promised to buy more sophisticated weapons from the US. Japan plans to purchase fifth-generation fighter-bombers, sea-based interceptor missiles, Aegis-equipped naval vessels and land-based Aegis defense systems. The ROK will purchase high-tech reconnaissance assets, missiles, submarines and various other modern weapons. By selling these weapons to Japan and ROK, the US will put in place the elements of its strategic missile defense system in Asia. Undoubtedly China will be the system's primary target.

At the APEC Summit held at Da Nang, Vietnam, Trump claimed the US will propose new bilateral partnerships to all countries in the Indo-Pacific so as to consolidate friendship and trade and to increase prosperity and security. The use of the term “Indo-Pacific” suggests the US will openly pursue the creation of an economic and military alliance, including pulling India in, to counterbalance China. In the past few years, Japan has been at the forefront of the Australia-India-Japan-US defense dialogue, which is designed to strengthen Indo-Pacific maritime security cooperation.

Containing China is at the core of America's Asia strategy. It is the result of America's economic and political features. The almost non-stop foreign wars it fought in the past 25 years led to a drastic increase in federal debt. While the military-industrial complex, high-tech, and financial sectors have made handsome profits, it is increasingly difficult for the working class to find well-paid jobs in most other sectors. According to the latest survey results, the net assets of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos total $248.5 billion, more than the total wealth owned by over half of the American population. The society is shockingly divided, leading to a rapid decay of democratic politics. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are highly divided by internal conflicts. National political power has fallen into the hands of a small group of business elites, high-ranking generals and intelligence officers, and Trump is the latest addition to this group. Compared with during the Obama administration, the current political atmosphere in the US is more chaotic and the establishment is more conservative and right-wing. The US will continue to contain China to redirect domestic political pressure and to generate profit for the military-industrial complex.

According to Thomas Kuhn, during revolutions, the world changes and theories must also change; each theory is applicable to the world it belongs to but not to the ones that precede or follow; theories of different times may not be measured with the same yardstick. The world today is undergoing an enormous social and scientific revolution, with many new paradigms emerging. The rise of China is only one aspect of the world revolution. The new China-US relationship will surely be unprecedented. It thus requires a new theory to explain it.

At the strategic level, China is obviously more rational and sensible. For years, China has been deliberating a new orientation for China-US relations in the new era. Hegemons set their eyes on controlling other countries through political means, but this is an idea of a bygone age. China, on the other hand, is committed to developing a diplomacy guided by economics, effectively satisfying countries' different needs by enhancing communication and understanding. The history of mankind has seen economics repeatedly defeat politics. This is why it will be very hard for America's containment policy to be successful.

China and the US, the two strongest forces in the “Indo-Pacific,” must coexist. Their forces in the region are basically symmetrical and balanced. In the coming decades, the two countries will certainly clash. These clashes will define both countries and intertwine them more closely. As a result of these clashes, the two sides will adapt and adjust. They will revise their original objectives and motives, thus realizing a new stability.