Balancing Cooperation and Competition: A Strategic Approach for the US to Navigate Emerging Power Challenges in the 21st Century
I. Introduction
Power shifts, and the struggles that go with them, have been happening across the globe since the first human tribes formed. For the U.S. specifically, China has been a power in steady contention with the U.S. In overcoming the U.S. in some areas and introducing challenges to U.S. strategic interests. As an independent strategic analyst, this essay will argue for a strategic approach the United States should adopt to address this challenge. It will analyze U.S. interests, suggest a general strategic approach, and provide some near-term and long-term actions that the U.S. could pursue—mainly focusing on the power struggle with China.
II. U.S. Interests
The United States has several interests at stake within the emerging power challenge. First, the U.S. has prioritized maintaining its global economic, political, and military dominance, specifically in the Asia-Pacific region. Emerging powers, however, can threaten U.S. interests by challenging the current global economic and security order. For example, China's rise has been fueled by its strategic use of state capitalism and mercantilist policies, rapidly increasing its economic and military power. This has made China more assertive globally, challenging the U.S.'s dominance in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
The U.S. is also deeply vested in promoting democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law. However, emerging powers like China have different political systems and values, which can challenge the US-led liberal international order. China's emphasis on state control and
its human rights record is particularly concerning to the U.S. Therefore; the U.S. must address the challenge posed by China's rise to protect its interests and promote its values.
III. General Strategic Approach
To address the challenge emerging powers like China pose, the U.S. should adopt a multi-faceted approach involving economic and security measures based on the following four pillars: strengthening alliances, promoting economic integration, promoting democracy and human rights, and enhancing military capabilities. In the short term, the U.S. should strengthen its alliances and partnerships with like-minded countries in the Asia-Pacific region to help hinder China's growing influence. The U.S. should also continue to pursue policies that promote free and fair trade while taking measures to protect its intellectual property rights and prevent unfair trade practices by China.
Economically, the U.S. should pursue policies that promote economic competitiveness, innovation, and growth. As expressed by Bown, US and Chinese policymakers are both determined to drastically reduce the two the countries economic interdependence. In order to aid this effort, this would also include investing in infrastructure, education, and research and development and promoting a level playing field for U.S. companies in global markets to help establish US independence. However, the U.S. should also address China's mercantilist policies, such as forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and subsidies for state-owned enterprises. In research conducted by Lester and Zhu, the "USTR found that China's laws and policies had harmed U.S. economic interests in the following ways:
"China uses joint venture requirements, foreign investment restrictions, and administrative review and licensing processes to require or pressure technology transfer from U.S. companies;
"China deprives U.S. companies of the ability to set market based terms in licensing and other technology-related negotiations;
"China directs and unfairly facilitates the systematic investment in, and acquisition of, U.S. companies and assets to generate large-scale technology transfer;
"China conducts and supports cyber intrusions into U.S. commercial computer networks to gain unauthorized access to commercially-valuable business information" (20).
In addition, the U.S. should work with its allies and partners to pressure China to reform its economic policies and comply with international rules and norms. Sanctions would need to be more effective in this case, and since they typically are not, I would not recommend this course of action. A concept deeply explored by Nadin and Peksen. Nadin stated, "In most sanctions cases, particularly in Africa, enforcement is weak/fails due to the lack of precisely such will/resources," about enforcement in the form of interdiction task forces. Moreover, Peksen noted that "sanctions also appear to be more potent tools in handling foreign crises with democratic regimes and allies than autocracies and hostile countries."
Finally, the U.S. should promote global economic governance reforms, such as strengthening the World Trade Organization, to ensure a level playing field for all countries (Oatley).
From a security perspective, the U.S. should work with its allies and partners to deter China's military aggression and promote regional stability. This should include enhancing U.S. military capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region by investing in advanced technologies, expanding military presence, and strengthening alliances and partnerships. The U.S. should also engage with China on arms control and strategic stability issues by negotiating a new arms control agreement that includes China. Finally, the U.S. should promote regional economic integration, such as through the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to enhance regional stability and prosperity (Granville).
From a diplomatic perspective, the U.S. should engage in diplomacy that promotes its interests and values globally. This should include building alliances and partnerships with countries that share U.S. interests and values, such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India. The U.S. should also engage with China on issues of mutual concern, such as climate change, global health, and nuclear proliferation. Additionally, the U.S. should continue to promote democracy and human rights globally by supporting civil society, promoting media freedom, and working to hold human rights abusers accountable.
Finally, the U.S. should enhance its military capabilities to counter the rise and fortification of emerging powers. This approach will require the U.S. to maintain a forward presence in key regions, such as Asia, and to develop new military technologies to ensure military superiority. Additionally, the U.S. should work to strengthen its cyber and space capabilities to promote dominance in these domains.
IV. Near-term
With the rise of China's economic and military power, the U.S. must adopt a strategic approach that acknowledges its interests, understands the current situation, and provides a plan considering near-term and long-term implications.
First, it is essential to define U.S. interests in this context. The U.S. is strongly interested in maintaining its leadership position in the world order, particularly regarding economics and security. Therefore, the U.S. must promote open and free trade, defend the international rules-based system, and prevent the expansion of authoritarian regimes. In terms of China, the U.S. must ensure that China's rise does not lead to a challenge to its global position and that China adheres to international norms and standards. Near-term strategies will need to be tailored to reflect these priorities; some possible measures include the following:
The U.S. should increase military aid to key allies (such as Japan and South Korea) to enhance the range and reach of military capabilities.
The U.S. should work to promote Free and Fair Trade as much as possible while taking measures to prevent unfair trade practices by China (Lester and Zhu).
Additionally, The U.S. should utilize targeted sanctions and other methods against emerging powers like China to attempt to stifle human rights abuses.
Investing in developments in industries such as biotechnology, computing, and other bleeding-edge technologies will provide an advantage to the welfare of the U.S.
And finally, the U.S. should continue to increase its economic engagement with other emerging powers to promote deep economic ties and regional stability.
V. Long-Term
In the long term, the U.S. must continue pushing for a trade agreement with China that addresses the above mentioned concerns. This agreement should be fair, enforceable, and consistent with the international rules-based system. Strengthening alliances is also a long-term action that will aid in achieving the objectives described. The U.S. should continue to work to strengthen alliances and partnerships with countries in the Asia-Pacific region (including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India). This would also include continuing diplomatic efforts to address security issues and maintain regional stability.
Continuing to invest in critical industries past the near term is a long-term strategic step; the U.S. should prioritize investments to continue to expand critical industries described previously, such as A.I. (artificial intelligence), quantum computing, and biotechnology. This could include increasing investments in research and development and the private sector. This will help the U.S. maintain its technological edge, reduce its reliance on China for critical technologies, and begin decoupling the U.S. and China trade interdependency (Bown). The U.S. should also work with its allies to diversify supply chains and reduce dependence on China. As Bown observed, "U.S. and Chinese policymakers certainly seem determined to reduce the two countries' economic interdependence, built over many decades but now buckling under the weight of their animosities" (2).
Furthermore, the U.S. should continue to promote democracy and human rights globally, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, to stifle and prevent the expansion of authoritarian regimes.
VI. Conclusion
In conclusion, the rise of emerging powers such as China poses significant challenges to the established order of global economic and security politics. As an independent strategic analyst, I believe the U.S. needs to adopt a comprehensive strategic approach combining strengthening of alliances, promoting economic integration, promoting democracy and human rights, and enhancing military capabilities to address these challenges. By taking a proactive approach the U.S. can maintain it’s current standing amongst top global powers and ensure an advantageous position. This cannot however be accomplished alone and it will require careful consideration of strategic partnerships and alliances to achieve and execute the general strategy proposed in this essay. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it did fall in one (September 4, 476 AD) (Kershaw).
Bown, Chad “Four Years Into the Trade War, Are the US and China Decoupling?” The Peterson Institute for International Economics. PIIE, 20 Dec. 2022, www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/four-years-trade-war-are-us-and-china-decoupling.
Granville, Kevin. 2017 “What Is TPP? Behind the Trade Deal That Died.” The New York Times, 20 Aug. 2016, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/tpp-explained-what-is-trans-pacific-partnership.html?module=inline
Kershaw, Daniel. “The Fall of Rome: When, Why and How Did Rome Fall? | History Cooperative.” History Cooperative, Dec. 2022, historycooperative.org/the-fall-of-rome-last-days-of-empire.
Lester, Simon and Huan Zhu. 2020. "The US-China Trade War: Is There an End in Sight?" The Cato Journal, https://www.cato.org/cato-journal/winter-2020/us-china-trade-war-there-end-sight
Nadin, Peter. 2014. "Sanctions: And Why They Don’t Work (Very Well)” Our World. ourworld.unu.edu/en/sanctions-and-why-they-dont-work-very-well.
Oatley, Thomas H. International Political Economy. Routledge, 2018.
Peksen, Dursen. 2019. “When Do Economic Sanctions Work Best?” Center for a New American Security (en-US), www.cnas.org/publications/commentary/when-do-economic-sanctions-work-best.
