Could the China-US conflict evolve into two competing spheres of economic influence?
- New economic initiatives from China and the US point to competition between a ‘belt and road order’ and ‘liberal international order’, analysts say
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to meet with top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi on Wednesday to try to de-escalate growing tensions
The increasingly contentious relationship between China and the United States is putting pressure on countries to choose sides, with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating the process of nations stepping away from each other rather than tackling the crisis together.
If current trends continue in the long run, there could be a reordering of the global economy into two major competing spheres of influence, one centred on the US and the other on China, analysts said.
Beijing and Washington’s already strained relationship has worsened this year, with the two sides sparring over the coronavirus pandemic, the new Hong Kong national security law, anti-racism protests sparked by the killing of African-American George Floyd, and military activities in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
At the same time, the US is retreating from international organisations, such as the World Health Organisation, and instead creating institutions and trade treaties tailored to American interests, said Paul Poast, an associate professor of political science at the University of Chicago.
Following World War II, the US led the “liberal international order”, which was underpinned by a network of international organisations and treaties, including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and its successor, the World Trade Organisation, that excluded China until the end of the Cold War, Poast said.