Name: JADE ANNE B.

SANTOS
Course and Section: AB in Political Science PSC31
Subject: Political Economy
Professor/Instructor: Jumel G. Estrañero
University: De La Salle University- Dasmarinas

US-CHINA Relations- Relationship Under Duress

I. Introduction

The United States and China have one of the world’s most important and complex bilateral
relationships. Since January 1979, the US-China relationship has seen enormous levels of
both positive and negative change, with the majority of these changes being beneficial. On
the positive side, the two countries have established mutually beneficial ties and interactions
in a wide range of areas, from trade and investment to social and cultural exchanges, as well
as joint initiatives to address global threats such as climate change, WMD proliferation, and
pandemics.

As a result, China has become far more integrated with the rest of the international
community; far more observant of international laws, norms, and procedures; and far more
open to far greater levels of social, economic, and political influence than existed prior to
1979. For serious students of US-China relations before and after normalisation, there is
simply no doubt that, despite recent setbacks in some areas, Beijing has made enormous
strides, owing largely to its opening to the outside world and adoption of market-based
economic development. These advancements have resulted in significantly higher living
standards, improved social infrastructure, greater freedom to travel and express a variety of
viewpoints, and greater openness to foreign influences of all kinds.

China's reform-driven development has significantly contributed to overall global growth,

directly benefiting the US and many other countries, particularly during recessions such as
the 2008-2010 downturn, when the US economy was in dire straits. US traders and investors
who do business with China have made substantial profits for their shareholders in the US
and elsewhere. Furthermore, while Beijing has undoubtedly stolen US technology in a
variety of areas, Chinese investments in and technical exchanges with the US have
contributed significantly to the development of cutting-edge technologies in Silicon Valley
and beyond, and continue to do so. Americans have also benefited from low-cost,
high-quality products designed, assembled, or manufactured in China. And, over the years,
Beijing has provided critical diplomatic and political assistance in addressing global issues
such as terrorism, WMD proliferation, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, and
pandemics, albeit not always to the extent that Washington desired.

II. Body

Prior to 1989, the United States benefited from close military and security cooperation with
Beijing aimed at their common foe, the Soviet Union. One of the main reasons for
establishing diplomatic relations between the United States and China was Washington's
desire to fully integrate Beijing into the international community and tap into the country's
enormous potential market. And, contrary to popular belief, US engagement with Beijing was
never based on the expectation that it would result in a politically democratic China.Some
US leaders hoped for greater levels of largely undefined liberalisation in a variety of areas.
None of the above positive outcomes for the United States and the rest of the world would
have occurred if Washington had maintained its adversarial posture toward Beijing, which
began with the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and has lasted for
the past two decades. They would not have happened if the US had restricted its diplomatic
opening in the 1970s and 1980s to a few specific areas of military cooperation and
assistance.

Along with the many advances, there have been a number of challenges and setbacks.
Since the two sides established full diplomatic relations in 1979, Beijing and Washington
have differed significantly on many critical issues, reflecting their differing political systems,
the legacy of hostility and conflict left over from the Korean War and the Cold War, and their
opposing political and social cultures and beliefs. These policy differences included how
Taiwan, controversial maritime claims along China's periphery, and the Korean Peninsula
were handled. They have also extended to disputes over trade and investment reciprocity
and fairness, cyber and other forms of espionage, human rights practices within and outside
of China, and other international laws and global norms.

UUnfortunately, the relationship's positive momentum did not last. While new challenges and
opportunities initially served to justify and compel greater US-China cooperation in the first
decade of the new century, three other major unprecedented negative domestic and
international trends emerged around the same time. These trends exacerbated tensions
between the United States and China, eventually overshadowing the relationship's many
positive aspects. The first trend emerged in the 1990s and 2000s, and it had two serious
negative consequences: severe damage to Beijing's reputation in the West, undermining
expectations of continued reform and opening, and a deepening of Chinese suspicions of
the US and other democracies. These developments arose as a result of Beijing's response
to three major challenges to CCP rule: the collapse of communist and authoritarian states,
exacerbated in part by the explosion of rapid, internet-based forms of communication with
freer societies; the emergence of unprecedented levels of corruption and socioeconomic
disorder in China in the 2000s, largely as a result of decades of market-led, rapid economic
growth and the failure to develop an effective legal system; and moratoriums on political and
economic reform. This triple threat to CCP rule heightened the leaders' fears, prompting
efforts to purge the party ranks, strengthen overall party controls throughout Chinese society,
and increase the state's economic role. Those changes began under Jiang Zemin and Hu
Jintao, but have accelerated under Xi Jinping. Recently, such perceived threats to the Party's
leadership have caused Xi to strengthen his personal position within the party, undermining
the Chinese political system's gradual evolution toward a more predictable, collective, and
institutionalised pattern of rule.
As a result of Beijing's actions, China's image among democratic states, which had already
been harmed by the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, deteriorated significantly, as did
Western confidence in China's commitment to pursue continued growth through greater
opening, marketization, and support for the rule of law. To add insult to injury, Chinese
leaders have grown increasingly sceptical of Western (particularly American) views and
policies toward China. Indeed, by the mid-1990s, the CCP leadership had concluded that
Washington and other democratic nations had significantly contributed to the collapse or
weakening of one-party systems elsewhere, and that the PRC regime might be pursuing
similar goals. Such fears and suspicions were heightened by many Chinese's long-standing,
deeply ingrained resentment of the West as a result of China's so-called "Century of
Humiliation."
A second set of highly negative trends that emerged in the 2000s involved domestic
developments in the U.S. and the West, adding more suspicions on both sides while also
emboldening China’s leaders in potentially dangerous ways. Specifically, the 2008 global
recession, the deepening polarisation of American society, and the resulting near-paralysis
of the U.S. political system in dealing with critical domestic issues such as ballooning health
care and entitlement costs and huge government deficits created two negative
consequences for the U.S.-China relationship.

A third major factor contributing to the overwhelming negative dynamics emerging in

U.S.-China relations is China’s very rapid growth, which has passed certain key thresholds.
Over the last eighteen years, China has become the largest trading power in the world,
surpassed the Japanese economy to become the second largest economic power overall,
become a major source of innovation in key high-tech sectors, accumulated massive foreign
exchange reserves, and transformed its military from a defence-oriented force focused
mainly on the homeland and Taiwan to a more expansive, sophisticated force capable of
operating at significant distances from China.

While contributing to global growth and the rise of living standards in many countries, the
systemic changes arising from these developments have enhanced Chinese confidence
abroad while greatly stoking American fears. By some measures, China is now poised to
equal America’s military footprint in the Western Pacific, which would effectively end seventy
years of U.S. maritime dominance in that critical region. As a result of all the negative
changes outlined above, the common strategic logic, economic incentives, and societal ties
that long anchored the U.S.-China relationship in the past are today rapidly disintegrating
under a tidal wave of growing mutual suspicion, faulty interpretations, worst-case
assumptions about motives, and zero-sum policy calculations. Although this is happening in
both Washington and Beijing, it is at this time particularly evident in the United States.

III. Analysis

While the US continues to declare its support for the existing international order, its actions
show a much more ambivalent, and at times hostile, attitude toward the web of multilateral
bodies, organisations, and institutions that has shaped the post-World War II period. Chinese
leaders are dissatisfied with the current international order for similar reasons. For Beijing,
the current order is ill-equipped to address twenty-first-century challenges on terms that it
accepts, in large part because it sees the status quo as favouring Western views and voices.
To address these perceived inequities, China is attempting to shape global governance
institutions from within, while also developing its own set of parallel and overlapping
initiatives.

The United States' ability to impose its will on the international order has been hampered by
power shifts in the international order that are beyond the United States' control. Accepting
China's preferences, on the other hand, is not a viable option. In the United States, such an
approach would undoubtedly undermine US leadership while eroding core normative
elements of the broadly liberal and rules-based order.

Experts' approaches to this are frequently influenced by how they view the US-China
rivalry—either as a struggle to maintain power preeminence on the global stage, or as a
more fluid and global competition to attract partners and gain support for defined priorities.
Ambivalence is not an option, regardless of which side of the debate analysts take. The
international order is in a state of change. Without guiding principles for determining which
elements of the existing order are most important for protecting US interests and values, the
US will be caught off guard and reactive to initiatives emanating from Beijing and elsewhere.

IV. Recommendation

Because of the diversity of US interests in China, the US must pursue a multifaceted policy
toward China. Many Americans view the US-China relationship through the lens of a single
issue, such as trade, Taiwan, or human rights. Without undermining the significance of these
specific issues, American policymakers should not allow any of them to dominate, or derail,
the entire relationship. There will undoubtedly be difficult times and disagreements. China is
a vast and diverse country and economy that faces both development and upheaval in the
future. We can avoid the turbulence that has afflicted relations between the two countries if
we pursue a policy that reflects the breadth of our mutual interests. In dealing with China, the
United States should always speak up for its interests and values, whether in trade,
international security, or human rights. But we should not be afraid of a strong and
prosperous China—-treating China as an enemy is the surest way to turn it into one. Despite
serious and persistent differences, China and the United States have been able to build a
relationship that benefits both countries while also increasing Asia's and the world's stability.
Increased ties and cooperation allow for the exchange of ideas, which can help to reduce
mistrust and misunderstanding of China in the United States while also encouraging growth
and, potentially, political change within China.

The researcher recommends that readers research the US-China relationship for more
information because it is an interesting topic to learn about. Readers will learn how the
relationship between two countries affects the world politically, economically, and socially by
studying the subject. Right now, we live in difficult times and face perilous challenges. The
world is in need of people who are ambitious and want to make a difference. Studying this
type of research is an excellent way to gain a better understanding of global issues. It is an
intriguing and important topic that everyone, whether a student or a professional, should be
familiar with.

V. Conclusion and Way Ahead

In Conclusion, the U.S.-China relationship is the most important in the world, with decisions
affecting the world’s chances for global peace, prosperity, and sustainability. Each country
has its own view of what its role, and the other’s role, in the world should be in the 21st
Century. These views are not entirely in sync. This has created tensions, and could become
more destabilizing. However, it’s in the interests of both countries to find a way forward
together that leaves room for cooperation, competition, perhaps even confrontation, without
leading to war —, a more complex and engaged form of coexistence than the United States
had with the Soviet Union in the last century.

The future of China is the great unknown of the twenty-first century. The United States must
encourage China to move toward greater prosperity, freedom, and international cooperation
while acknowledging China's important and changing role in the world. On a wide range of
issues, the United States and China continue to alternate between connecting and colliding.
If both sides commit to engagement, the United States and China can build on the
foundation of the last years to forge a relationship marked by depth, candor, and shared
interests.

The future of China is the great unknown of the twenty-first century. The United States must
encourage China to move toward greater prosperity, freedom, and international cooperation
while acknowledging China's important and changing role in the world. On a wide range of
issues, the United States and China continue to alternate between connecting and colliding.
If both sides commit to engagement, the United States and China can build on the
foundation of the last years to forge a relationship marked by depth, candor, and shared
interests.

VI. References

Coexistence 2.0: U.S.-China Relations in a Changing World. (n.d.). Asia Society. Retrieved
January, 2023, from
https://asiasociety.org/center-us-china-relations/coexistence-20-us-china-relations-changing-
world

Friedhoff, K., & Smeltz, D. (2022, August 10). ☕️. YouTube. Retrieved January, 2023, from

https://globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/americans-view-relations-china-impor

tant-despite-some-mistrust?gclid=CjwKCAiAoL6eBhA3EiwAXDom5pxZHaASO8bnsR6e68H

O8vCfnGHOZZbOZ5A_QpbnLkyMx9R_yhC3dxoC7LMQAvD_BwE
Swaine, M. D. (2019, January 16). A Relationship Under Extreme Duress: U.S.-China

Relations at a Crossroads. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved January

24, 2023, from

https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/01/16/relationship-under-extreme-duress-u.s.-china-rel

ations-at-crossroads-pub-78159

A Message to our Professor:

Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us, Sir. I deeply appreciate your efforts to teach us
despite having busy schedules. I admire how dedicated and passionate you are with your
work. I hope you achieve whatever dream (8 hours of sleep, probably.) you have. Take care
of your well-being, Sir. More blessings to you and God Bless you and your family always!