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US-China relations
OpinionComment
Andrew Leung
Andrew Leung

Opinion | How the US can offer a realistic response to the ‘China challenge’

  • China’s rise in a multipolar world must be fully acknowledged, but exaggerating its capabilities and ambition is unhelpful and possibly destructive
  • Great power competition is not a strategy, and there are more subtle ways to respond, including by ‘nudging’ China through cooperation

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Andrew Leung

With strong bipartisan consensus, China has become America’s arch-enemy. It is thought to be undermining the US-led liberal order, seeking to supplant the United States as the regional, if not world, hegemon. Its ideology, economic practices and assertive behaviour are trampling on the values of human rights, fair play and regional stability.

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Americans’ negative views of China have reached historic highs. The US, along with its allies, must continue to push China back, at all costs short of war, save for limited opportunities for cooperation. This seems to inform US President Joe Biden’s policy of “extreme competition”. While understandable, such “extremism” could veer towards Sinophobia. 

China cannot surpass the US in military sophistication, readiness and global reach. The US has a military presence in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide. It has formidable naval and missile assets in the homeland and the first- and second-island chains to deter and prevail against any Chinese aggression.

Territorial claims notwithstanding, China’s South China Sea manoeuvring is designed to safeguard its energy resources and trade against perceived American military encirclement. Globally, China’s footprint is predominantly geopolitical and economic.

Contrary to popular theories such as The Hundred Year Marathon, China would be foolish to try becoming a global or even a regional hegemon. Apart from overreaching, China’s ideology is not widely embraced. It would be far better for China to remain the world’s largest trader, manufacturer and market. Beijing has repeatedly emphasised its lack of desire for hegemony. 

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China-India border clash in June left four PLA troops dead and one injured, report says

China-India border clash in June left four PLA troops dead and one injured, report says
Despite a lack of allies, a newly minted Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment have happened without the US. However, these economic partners are not at Beijing’s beck and call.
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