IT seems that the Biden Administration, the US military junta and media outlets are trying to create a new world order based on their constant Containment and Collapse of China’s policies and Military Complex Theory. Unwise sanctions on the Chinese EVs, upward increase of tariffs, trade/economic sanctions, trade & technology wars, joint military drills in South China Sea, deployment of missiles and last but not the least, expanding military partnerships all indicate real essence of the US geopolitical obsession and geo-strategic euphoria causing instability and disharmony in the Asia Pacific region.
The policy makers of the US coined a new national narrative and declared China as its primary strategic competitor in 2017 and subsequently it purposefully launched a full-fledged trade war against it in 2018, starting a new round of major country competition. Thus despite China’s restraint and willingness to jointly work for the betterment of the world and global economy, China-US competition has become the new normal of the world order. During the Obama era, the US initiated actions to manage fallout from the global financial crisis and counter China’s rise. These efforts persisted under Trump and intensified under Biden. Biden’s Administration launched three integrated wars against China to curb its industrial and technological progress and boost US manufacturing. However, these efforts have harmed US industries, society and manufacturing capacity.
By increasing tariffs against Chinese products the US government has specific plans to weaken the price advantage of “made-in-China” products and make these less attractive to US consumers. Additionally, the US has forced its allies to take economic protectionist measures targeting China in a bid to grab the market share of Chinese products. To achieve this goal, the US’ cracked down on China’s telecommunications giant Huawei. The US government intentionally used national security cards and teamed up with some of its allies to ban 5G equipment provided by Huawei, aiming to trim the Chinese firm’s market share or even shut its products completely out of Europe and the US.
The US’s tech war against China has multipronged. The US placed numerous Chinese high-tech companies on its entity list for export controls; and it has instituted barriers to Chinese companies’ investing in the US by tightening the review processes. Thus the two-pronged approach is designed to prevent China from accessing cutting-edge technologies and pushing for Sino-US tech-decoupling. The US avoided a full-scale financial war with China but imposed barriers to prevent Chinese firms from accessing US capital markets and restricted US investment in China. This is part of broader efforts to compel industry and supply chain transfers from China to preserve US global dominance. The unfolding US-China competition is reshaping the international order amid evolving power dynamics and socio-economic trends.
The US-China diplomatic competition spans three fronts with far-reaching effects. Primarily, it revolves around vying for dominance in the international system, where the US maintains control over rules, personnel, and policies. This competition extends to international governance, intensifying the contest. Additionally, both countries are expected to pursue regional free trade agreements to expand their market share amid a paralyzed global trade system. Last but not least it is feared that the competition for energy security and battle of clean energy production will gain increasing importance, the US is doubling down on diplomatic efforts to secure key raw minerals.
It is a bitter reality that US diplomacy is based on its military alliances system, which is relatively exclusive and rigid. In contrast, China’s diplomacy promotes a global network of partnerships that focus on cooperation, which is more open and flexible. It is estimated that the Sino-US competition in diplomacy will be fundamentally a fight between China’s network of partnerships and the US-led alliance system. US’ national political system, trapped and divided by party strife and political polarization in recent years, has decreased the nation’s taxation capacity and led to fiscal instability, as evidenced by the fiscal cliff repeatedly faced by the US government in recent times.
The US relies on issuing treasury bonds to address its fiscal deficit, leveraging its financial hegemony to attract capital globally. In contrast, China’s domestic-focused economic model and efficient taxation system enable wealth accumulation at home, with limited ability for Chinese enterprises to raise significant funds abroad. Predictions suggest Hong Kong may become a battleground for US-China competition in the capital realm. Due to massive industrial transfers and the decline of its manufacturing sector, the US’ capacity for tech application and industrialization has been weakened. Thus it started notions of China’s overcapacity which just shows its own under-capacity which has started to affect its own industrial sector.
Many reports have confirmed that in the era of economic globalization and international cooperation the US is experiencing de-industrialization” owing to the lack of tech application scenarios. Hence, the US’ tech innovation can be described as a byproduct of economic protectionism which does not match any of the Chinese qualitative industrialization and manufacturing strength. China is the true champion of manufacturing, innovation, green technologies, bio-tech, digitalization, e-commerce, artificial intelligence and international cooperation, increasing its constructive and positive role in global governance. Thus current US-China competition will further widen gaps between Global North and Global South.
— The writer is President: Pak-China Corridor of Knowledge, Pakistan, Executive Director: The Centre for South & International Studies (CSAIS) Islamabad, Regional Expert: Indonesia, China, CPEC & BRI
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