US - China

U.S.-China Tensions Grow.The great power competition between China and the United States is fully underway. The Joe Biden administration’s National Security Strategy, released in October 2022, made the point bluntly: “China harbors the intention and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order in favor of one that tilts the global playing field to its benefit,” and the United States intends to “win the competition.” The administration pointed to Beijing’s militarization of the South China Sea, its support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its efforts to intimidate Taiwan, and its rampant theft of intellectual property as evidence that Beijing’s behavior had forced the United States to abandon its policy of welcoming China’s rise. China’s belligerent response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August highlighted just how tense relations had grown between the two countries. In October, Biden took a major step to limit China’s rise by denying it access to the advanced semiconductor chips and technology essential to dominating fields like artificial intelligence. Biden also continued to urge friends and allies to take similarly tough stances on China. However, the administration’s tendency to act unilaterally, its lackluster trade initiatives, and its embrace of an industrial policy that could steal jobs from those same friends and allies, undercut its efforts. In mid-November, Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit. They promised to work to reduce mutual tensions and pledged cooperation in areas like climate change and public health. Nonetheless, mutual suspicion and acrimony are likely to dominate the relationship for years to come.