Analysis Of The Predicament Of The "restart" Of US-Russian Relations During The Trump Administration

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union,Russia became the only country that could rival the United States in terms of military power.The US-Russian relations is not only related to the security of the Atlantic region and the Eurasian continent,but is also of great significance to the stability of China and even the world order.Throughout the history of US-Russian relations after the Cold War,the US and Russia have initiated the process of “reset” four times,but they all ended in failure.The failure of the four “reset” of US-Russia relations is related to the asymmetry of the two countries' strength and the misplaced expectation of the “reset”.Also,the strong personal touch in bilateral relations has also exposed the lack of institutional links between the two countries.However,as far as the US and Russia's respective strategic considerations are concerned,Russia's traditional yearning for the West and the goal of rejuvenation as well as the US strategic vision of “uniting Russia to control China”,have provided impetus for the two to “approach”.Specifically,the US and Russia have a good foundation for cooperation and extensive cooperation space in the fields of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament,international counter-terrorism,aerospace and Arctic affairs.These factors provide the possibility for the “reset” of the two countries.Soon after Donald Trump took office,the continued deterioration of US-Russia relations frustrated the expectation of “reset” between the two countries.Therefore,the improvement of US-Russia relations under Trump still faces a series of difficulties.From the perspective of the international system,structural contradictions including the conflict of strategic objectives,the intensified geopolitical game,the escalation of nuclear deterrence and the arms race,and the low level of economic cooperation are the biggest obstacles to the bilateral relations.At the national level,the confrontation of the ideology between the United States and Russia has a long history,and the“Russian Gate” investigation has further restricted Trump's willing.At the same time,the low degree of favorable impression towards each other has reflected the weak base of public opinion.From the perspective of individual leaders,the strong personalities of Trump and Putin have exacerbated the tough interaction between the two countries.After Biden and his establishment government took office,the possibility of limited contacts and cooperation between the United States and Russia cannot be ruled out.However,the opposition between the two sides in traditional fields such as geopolitics and ideology may become more prominent.It can be said that the future US-Russia relations will still be difficult to get out of the inherent dilemma.As an important partner of the United States and Russia,China should continue to develop relations with Russia and actively manage the differences between China and the United States at the same time.In general,promoting the benign interaction between China,the United States and Russia and the construction of a new type of major power relationship is not only beneficial to Chinese own development,but also plays an indispensable role in the stability of the world order.