US-China Strategic Competition in Each Domestic Context

Abstract

AbstractThe U.S.-China strategic competition has grown increasingly intense in recent years. A large share of the explanation lies in the changing structure of the international system, as a rising China poses a challenge to the U.S. position as the established superpower. Domestic political factors in both countries also play important roles, however. The clash between the two countries’ political systems, pitting a liberal democracy against a one-party authoritarian state, intensifies the conflict. Moreover, recent political developments in both countries create pressure for increasingly intense competition. As the 2020 U.S. presidential election made clear, a strong bipartisan consensus has formed in the United States in favor of a more confrontational approach toward China than the engagement strategy pursued for the past few decades. In China, the combination of domestic political problems made worse by the coronavirus pandemic, the imperative to satisfy Chinese nationalism, and Xi Jinping’s consolidation of one-man rule could push China toward an increasingly assertive foreign policy. All of these domestic factors could further intensify the U.S.-China strategic competition.