China’s Rise, the Decline of the West, and Deglobalization Speaker(s): David Arase, Mark Beeson, Alejandro T Reyes
Information
Watch the replay here.
Key takeaways:
- The original Cold War between the Soviet Union and the US was characterized by stark ideological differences in economic and social values as well as the future of international order. Today, however, Washington and Beijing have a deeply institutionalized relationship.
- There will be extended periods of turbulence in US-China relations, particularly due to issues between Beijing and New Delhi, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the South China Sea.
- Australia, Japan and India are supporting US regional engagement. While Beijing may interpret these partnerships as a strategy to contain it, regional democracies view China’s actions as an increasing threat to democracies in the Indo-Pacific.
- Though the chance of armed conflict between the US and China is low, realists and hawks are operating in both the CCP and Trump administrations. Both the US and China must be transparent and take more responsibility for assertive actions.
- Indo-Pacific countries are increasingly worried about supply chain security due to the US-China trade dispute and Covid-19. Australia, Japan and India have begun discussing a joint supply chain resilience initiative.
About the Speaker(s)
Notes
China is challenging the unipolar global order under American hegemony. Increasing nationalistic rhetoric about decoupling and deglobalization, and tit-for-tat trade and other sanctions have heated up the strategic rivalry. In this first AsiaGlobal Papers webinar, David Arase of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Mark Beeson of the University of Western Australia discuss the weakening of US hegemony and Washington’s withdrawal from multilateral engagement, the shift in international politics from a unipolar to a bipolar or multipolar framework, and the geopolitical and economic consequences these shifts will have for the US, China and the Indo-Pacific region.
Click on these links to download the AsiaGlobal Papers by David Arase and Mark Beeson.
