In an exclusive interview with China.org.cn on March 12 at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) sessions in Beijing, Major General Jin Yinan called on U.S. policymakers to abandon their "Cold War mindset" in perceiving China as a growing threat to global stability.

"The U.S. wants to maintain the current world order and its position as the world leader. We have been constantly reiterating that we will not challenge the current world order. But the U.S. has been constantly taking cautious actions against China as we are gaining strength," said Jin, who is the head of the Strategic Research Institute at the National Defense University as well as a CPPCC member.

American foreign affairs strategists, Jin said, are misguided in their efforts to try to "contain" China as they did with the Soviet Union during the cold war. Jin blamed antiquated thinking on the part of American scholars and decision-makers.

"Many American strategists including Joseph Nye and Henry Kissinger have inherited the Cold War thinking and tend to see China as another Soviet Union," Jin said. "Sino-U.S. relations are a complex, bilateral relationship. It would be a great mistake if they chose to treat China like the former USSR," he added.

Jin said that the U.S.'s Pacific-rim military alliances with Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Australia, and the Philippines, as well as its recent military exercises with South Korea are evidence that the U.S. is pursuing a containment strategy.