REPORT
A course correction in America’s China policy
Ryan Hass, Patricia M. Kim, and Jeffrey A. Bader November 2022
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Global ChinaThe U.S.-China relationship is on a downward trajectory. Neither side agrees on the diagnosis of problems or the remedies, and domestic political trends in both countries limit the likelihood of improved relations any time soon. Even so, the relationship remains too consequential to people in both countries and the rest of the world to be guided by a fatalistic acceptance of deepening enmity. And while competition resides at the core of the relationship, it is a mistake to view the relationship solely through the lens of rivalry. Doing so limits tools available to Washington for developing a more durable, productive relationship that serves America’s interests.
This paper presents five specific recommendations of steps the United States could take to better protect and advance its interests vis-à-vis China. The common thread of these recommendations is that U.S. policy should be informed by an awareness of America’s long-term national interests and how China relates to them. For the coming decades, China will have enormous potential on the world stage to do good or ill. A more interest-driven approach will give confidence to America’s partners that its policy toward China is organized around a coherent theory of the case and is not simply reactive to Chinese initiatives or guided by the perpetual pursuit of political point-scoring at home.
Recommended steps for bolstering America’s capacity to coexist and maintain an edge over China :
1. CEMENT U.S. TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP FOR THE COMING DECADES
2. ESTABLISH A MORE FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT AROUND CHINA FOR AMERICAN INTERESTS
3. BUILD A MORE DURABLE AND PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA
4. RESIST POLITICAL POINT-SCORING ON CHINA
5. EXPAND THE LENS ON RISK REDUCTION
The purpose of strategy is to advance national objectives. America’s current approach toward its
bilateral relationship with China is failing to meet this standard.
Preserving and advancing American interests require that the U.S.-China relationship be framed more
broadly than the rigid version of competition that exists today. The five sets of policy adjustments
recommended above could help better orient U.S. policy on China toward advancing the security,
prosperity, and health of the American people.
Some people may advocate either a harsher or more conciliatory stance toward China. Others may
find comfort in blaming the downturn in relationssquarely on China and arguing that Beijing must
bear the burden of fixing problems in the relationship. This is a welcome debate. The stakes are too
significant for the relationship to be left solely in the hands of Beijing or on autopilot to be guided by
the prevailing political winds in either country.
Ryan Hass, Fellow, Foreign Policy, John L. Thornton China Center, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution
Ryan Hass
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, John L. Thornton China Center The Michael H. Armacost Chair Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies Nonresident Fellow, Paul Tsai China Center, Yale Law School
ryanl_hass
Patricia M. Kim
Patricia M. Kim
David M. Rubenstein Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, John L. Thornton China Center
patricia_m_kim
Jeffrey A. Bader
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, John L. Thornton China Center
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