U.S.-China Relationship

Context:

• Recently, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s marathon talks with top officials in China, have underscored the desire of the two countries to stabilise their relationship and the resultant challenges. 

Exposing Fault Lines between USA and China:

• America’s Concerns and Threats: USA raised concerns about what he called China’s “support for Russia’s defence industry” and threatened actions if Beijing “doesn’t address this problem”.
• Criticism of US Military Aid and Accusations: China slammed the “hypocrisy and irresponsibility” of the U.S., which just decided to send military aid worth $61 billion to Ukraine and then made “groundless accusations” against normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Russia.
• US Policy on Taiwan and South China Sea: China also attacked the U.S. policy towards Taiwan and the South China Sea and urged Washington to look at China’s development “in a positive light”.

Structural Challenges in US China Relation:

• Mutual Misgivings: Both the U.S. and China have mutual deep misgivings. U.S. National Defence Strategy documents name China as a “revisionist power” and a pacing technological and military challenger.
• Export Controls and Tariffs: The U.S. has imposed export controls to limit China’s growth in strategic sectors, particularly semiconductors, and imposed high tariffs on Chinese goods.
• US Support for Taiwan and Philippines: USA has doubled down on its support for Taiwan and bolstered defense cooperation with the Philippines, which has disputes with China in the South China Sea. 
• Role of USA  in South China Sea: China has blamed the U.S. for South China Sea tensions and called Washington’s support for Taiwan as an intervention in its internal affairs.

Areas of Cooperation:

• Resumption of military-to-military communication: In November 2023, when Presidents Xi and Biden met in California, both sides decided to resume bilateral military-to-military communication.
• Cooperation on Artificial Intelligence:  USA and China decided to cooperate in addressing the risks of artificial intelligence and launch efforts to control the production of fentanyl.
• Collaboration on climate change and global food security:Tackling climate change and global food security are also areas of cooperation.

Conclusion:

As the two most powerful countries, they should stay away from engaging in conflicts. Even if they are not able to resolve their ideological and geopolitical differences, they should build the guardrails that could prevent the competition from turning ugly and stay focused on the areas of cooperation, addressing the common challenges of the world.