As the United States pursues industrial policies to serve its own national interests, and as China sticks with its state-driven economic model, cooperation will not be the order of the day. But it could become a bit easier if both sides recognized that their policies are neither too different nor necessarily harmful to each other.
CAMBRIDGE – It is common to think of US-China tensions as the inevitable result of stark differences between the two countries. The United States has a fully capitalist market economy, whereas the Chinese government keeps a strong hand on the economic tiller. For all its faults, the US is a democracy, whereas China is a single-party regime that brooks no political challenge. Though the US remains the world’s most powerful country, China’s growing economic and geopolitical might threatens American hegemony.
CAMBRIDGE – It is common to think of US-China tensions as the inevitable result of stark differences between the two countries. The United States has a fully capitalist market economy, whereas the Chinese government keeps a strong hand on the economic tiller. For all its faults, the US is a democracy, whereas China is a single-party regime that brooks no political challenge. Though the US remains the world’s most powerful country, China’s growing economic and geopolitical might threatens American hegemony.