中国、美国和欧洲：新三边关系中的合作与竞争

China,the United States and Europe:Trilateral Cooperation and Competition

在国际关系多极化迅猛发展的今天,中国、美国和以欧盟为代表的欧洲正在成为全球政治经济中的三大力量中心。相应地,如何认识中、美、欧之间的三边关系及其互动模式并加以前瞻性地应对,这不仅是中国外交战略必须思考的问题,也会牵涉未来国际体系的构造。作者对现有的三边关系理论提出了改进,试图揭示中、美、欧新三边关系的基本特征:即这种三边关系仍处于初级阶段;三方共处模式是其基本形态;美欧稳定婚姻模式是其一般特征;三边博弈具有动态变化特征,且在不同议题领域内存在差异;三边关系具有开放性。考虑到中、美、欧三边关系的上述特点,处理这种三边关系的制度框架应该有多个路径,主要应以双边和大多边为主,并考虑发展尝试性的三边机制。

In a rapidly unfolding multipolar international system,China,the United States and Europe (in the form of European Union) are emerging as the three most prominent actors in global political economy. Accordingly,how to conceive the new trilateral relationship among China,US and EU and its patterns of interactions and to cope with it in a forward-looking manner,is not only an issue of vital importance to the designing of China's future foreign strategy,but also an issue crucial to shaping the whole international system. This article proposes four improvements of the existing theoretical frameworks in studying trilateral relations or strategic triangles,and attempts to identify the main features of this China-US-EU trilateral relation: its emerging nature;overall cooperative relations;the centrality of US-EU stable marriage;dynamic change over time and in different issue areas;and its openness. Based on these understandings,the author argues that China should embrace multiple approaches to manage this trilateral relationship,mainly through bilateral and multilateral ones,while exploring the possibility of experimental trilateral mechanisms.