Yinhe Incident And Sino-US Relations

As we all know,Sino-US relations are one of the most important bilateral relations in the world,but they are also a pair of asymmetrical bilateral relations.The United States has a full range of advantages in bilateral relations.China's most important advantage lies in its development potential,but its strength is far less than the United States.However,this does not cover the fact that the two countries still have a wide range of common interests at the bilateral,regional and global strategic levels.As a world power,the relationship between the two countries not only directly affects the situation of the two countries,but also affects the international situation.Since 1972 when the normalization of relations between the two countries began,China and the United States had experienced more than ten years of honeymoon period.However,with the end of the Cold War in 1991,Sino-US relations worsened.The relationship between the two countries fluctuated,with twists and turns constantly.January 20,1993,the new US President Bill Clinton came to power,so the United States was bound to adjust China's foreign policy.Under the guidance of the Pressure Policy,the United States adopted a series of containment measures against China.In 1993,the Yinhe incident occurred.In July 1993,the United States which based on the so-called "accurate intelligence" to provoke Yinhe incident accused China of exporting prohibited chemicals to Iran.In August,the United States even sent warships and helicopters to track the cargo ship and take pictures.As a result,the United States,China and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia boarded the cargo ship to check all the goods but finally confirmed that there were no chemicals that United States had accused of.The behavior of the United States trampled on the principle of freedom of navigation on the high seas,imposed an internationally wrongful act,and infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of China.So the United States should have assumed to take responsibility for the incident,apologize to China and compensate for the damage and loss of China.But the United States rejected the China's reasonable request.Yinhe incident is not accidental.Chinese government' s performance of this incident is extremely restrained and responsible.Yinhe incident is the first major incident between China and the United States after President Clinton came to power.After Yinhe incident,the United States began to gradually adjust its foreign policy.Thanks to the joint efforts of both China and the United States,at the end of 1993,the highest leaders of China and the United States resumed exchanges and Sino-US relations were restored and developed.America' s China Policy had also shifted from"containment" to "full contact".In the Clinton term,despite the friction between China and the United States,the overall situation developed toward a good direction.Yinhe incident left Chinese bad memory.Chinese once again realized that a weak nation is always excluded to enjoy preferential diplomacy and bred a stress of nationalist sentiment which became the rise of the trend of China's modern nation thought.In order to avoid the recurrence of such incidents,China must further strengthen its national strength and improve its own international discourse on the basis of clarifying the national interests.At the same time,the Chinese government should be good at using international law to safeguard and fight for the legitimate interests of the country in the face of this flagrant violation of international law.In the event of a similar situation,the Chinese government must first ensure that it complies with the rules and principles of the relevant international law and remain politically and legally active.On this basis,we should vigorously mobilize the power of public opinion.At the same time,China should always adhere to the international responsibility which means reasonable apology and compensation of the loss and always maintain the political pressure on the other.