Unless these broader and deeper issues are addressed, we are in for a long winter in U.S.-China relations. Nevertheless, underlying tensions will persist because the problems we face, and our divergence of views, even in the economic area, are much broader. The tariff war between the United States and China will eventually be concluded-hopefully soon.Īnd China can agree to enough of what President Trump seeks to enable a deal that he can be proud of- if it also marks the beginning of the negotiation of a high-ambition trade or investment agreement. Taken together, these and other drivers have fueled a new consensus in Washington that China is not just a strategic competitor but very possibly our major long-term adversary.Īmerica’s longstanding “engagement” policy is now widely viewed as being of little use for its own sake.īut nearly everybody is arguing that the results of U.S.-China dialogue and engagement have been poor. The United States and the EU both reject those views.
Third, American and Chinese views are opposed in critical areas.įor example, China and Russia argue for cyber sovereignty and the right of the state to control cross-border data flows. One example is maritime rights-which recently brought our navies into a near-collision on the high seas. Second, the United States and China disagree about important rules governing the international system. On many issues where the United States and China should agree, such as North Korea, we often pursue divergent approaches. The drivers of the current downward spiral aren’t complicated. And in this tenth anniversary year of the 2008 financial crisis, I look back at our work together-when global markets were on the brink of collapse-as an example of tough, but cooperative, interaction.įirst, how the United States and China arrived at this moment of heightened tension Īnd third, a few modest suggestions to begin the long process of setting U.S.-China relations onto more sustainable footing. My friend, Vice President Wang Qishan, has been here in Singapore over the last two days. There’s a lot of finger pointing between Beijing and Washington these days.Īnd yet for all the struggles, tension and disagreement, America has been well served by the effort to work through problems. I fear that we are quickly unlearning Mr. “Power politics in Asia is as old as the first tribes that emerged… whether we like it or not, if we are to survive and maintain our separate identities, it is necessary that we should learn what is in the joint interest at any single time of a group of nations.” Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister, understood the challenges of keeping the peace and assuring prosperity in this complex region. It is fitting, that we discuss these developments in Singapore-which reflects so much of what has made Asia the world’s greatest success story of the last half century.
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