A man walks on Times Square in New York, the United States, July 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
"The last Cold War was dangerous enough," Jeffrey Sachs said. "This one would be even more dangerous. It's completely misconceived and misguided, but a lot of Americans want to put it to China and think that we run the show, which is a very dangerous view of thinking."
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. politicians risk making a "dreadful mistake" by stoking a geopolitical Cold War with China, a renowned U.S. economist has warned.
"The last Cold War was dangerous enough," Jeffrey Sachs, an economics professor at Columbia University and senior United Nations advisor, said in an interview with CNBC on Monday.
"This one would be even more dangerous. It's completely misconceived and misguided, but a lot of Americans want to put it to China and think that we run the show, which is a very dangerous view of thinking," he said.
Photo taken on Sept. 24, 2015 shows the national flags of China (R) and the United States as well as the flag of Washington D.C. on the Constitution Avenue in Washington, capital of the United States.(Xinhua/Bao Dandan)
Sachs noted that attacking China has become a bipartisan strategy for political gain in the United States, but a geopolitical Cold War with China would threaten global security in an already tumultuous period as the COVID-19 pandemic continues its spread across the world.
"While politics is a game, and a pretty tough one in the U.S., it's an incredibly dangerous sport also, and to play with the facts and the lies that we're saying about China right now has consequences," Sachs told CNBC.
Sachs urged global leaders to cooperate on issues like climate change as the economy undergoes a "remarkably choppy period of disruption and transition."
"If we face it as each one is on your own, then we're going to look back with a lot of regret," he said.
Aerial photo taken on July 15, 2020 shows a container port in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)
China rejects any attempt to create a so-called "new Cold War," because it contravenes the fundamental interests of the Chinese and U.S. people and the global trend toward development and progress, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said earlier this month.
Anyone who tries to start a so-called "new Cold War" in the 21st century will be on the wrong side of history and will only be remembered as the one who has upended international cooperation, Wang told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. ■
