Susan Thornton asserts that U.S. officials often talk about "increasing pressure" on China, but sanctions and tariffs have not generally produced Chinese policy movement. "To gain the needed leverage, we need to give China the prospect of a beneficial outcome — which for Beijing could start with developing what they would consider a more respectful partnership."
Cheng Li argues that the "U.S. and China, two superpowers in the digital era, should work in tandem with the international community to jointly combat digital divides and COVID-19." He explains that the countries can complement each other in this effort through the United States' extensive network of global health programs and China's strong capacity for manufacturing and logistics.
The announcement of President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping's virtual summit has raised prospects that Washington and Beijing can begin to set "guardrails" to prevent U.S.-China competition from tipping into conflict, Patricia Kim writes.
How does control of the seas affect global trade and security? Brookings Senior Fellow Bruce Jones joins David Dollar on the Dollar & Sense podcast to discuss evolutions in sea-based trade, including the growing size of container ships, threat of modern piracy, explosion of data flows, and the transformation of global value chains.
Russia, China, and the mounting challenge for peacebuilding. In a new report, Bruce Jones and Alexander Marc analyze China and Russia's strategies for development policy in fragile states specifically. They emphasize the need for the West to mobilize and put concerted pressure within multilateral institutions for the "new" powers to improve the quality and accountability of their interventions.
Biden continues Trump's hard-line toward Beijing.David Dollar spoke with NBC News about the Biden administration's China policy ahead of the G-20 summit and COP26 climate conference. "The U.S. is trying to rally countries to decouple from China and isolate it. I don't think they're getting much traction."
The U.S.-China diplomatic stalemate. Diana Fu told Politico that agreeing to Beijing's "bottom lines" and meeting the two lists of demands would be "fundamentally caving in on the values that the U.S. espouses."
About the China Center
The John L. Thornton China Centerdevelops timely, independent analysis and policy recommendations to help U.S. and Chinese leaders address key long-term challenges, both in terms of U.S.-China relations and China's internal development.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. is currently closed and all events are virtual only. For more information on the Institution's response, read our full guidance here.
The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036