US and China in ideological battle for the future, defence official says
- Cooperative steps with allies under consideration to counter expanded Chinese footprint in Asia and Europe
- Competing interests among European countries make working strategies difficult, analysts say
The United States is in an ideological battle with China and needs to devise an effective, coordinated strategy with its allies to counter the rise of the Asian giant, according to a senior US defence official.
China’s use of “predatory economics” and its growing military clout threatened to worsen corruption, undermine the sovereignty of smaller nations, erode human rights and weaken free trading systems, said Randall G. Schriver, assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs at the US Department of Defence.
“We don’t want to see any coercive approach to resolving disputes,” Schriver told a conference on US-China-European Union relations sponsored by the Washington-based Hudson Institute think tank.
While some of these concerns also touched on Russia, North Korea and non-state actors, “we’re particularly concerned about the trajectory of China”, he said.
Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative” – an ambitious investment and infrastructure programme – as well as its island building and military expansion in the South China Sea, were key areas of concern, Schriver said, before outlining several cooperative steps the US was considering to counter China’s expanded footprint in Asia and Europe.