PREAMBLE
It is said that internationally, the prime contradiction that China faces is between the great rejuvenation of the Chinese civilisation state and American hegemony.
Sino-American competition has to be seen as a dialectic discourse to be resolved in a new international paradigm where history is on China’s side. That the shift of power from West to East is returning to the long-term historical norm after centuries of global inequality under Western imperialism, and presently globalisation under American hegemony.
In this Yan Yilong's (鄢一龙) piece, a brief exploration towards an understanding of American hegemonic decline, and to present China's overall strategy which is not to collide head-on but to maintain strategic composure, continuously enhance its strength, and exhaust the opponent's power.
Key Points
China faces a contradiction between American hegemony and its own national rejuvenation – this competition between China and the USA is epoch-defining, inevitable, and structural.
History is on China’s side – China is shaping and being shaped by global trends, including the fracturing of global capitalism and a return from Western supremacy to the “historical norm.”
American decline is driven by internal contradictions: the disparity between dollar hegemony and American production capacity; American “addiction” to military intervention; and unequal globalisation driven by American interests.
The threat facing the world is a “Lydia trap” rather than a “Thucidydes trap” – the problem is not China’s rise, but that the USA cannot decline peacefully.
Competition between China and the USA is “comprehensive,” meaning China should strive for “comprehensive control,” strengthening its strategic advantage, while avoiding direct conflict.
China should counter the coercive anti-China alliance of the USA with a united front against American hegemony, including Chinese support for the United Nations, "back-to-back" friendly relations between China and Russia, greater cooperation with Europe, and the China-led economic development of Asia.
China’s rise will not mean a new hegemony. China pursues “communitarianism,” different from Western civilization in that it is not about centre-periphery relations, but rather open, balanced, and “people” instead of “capital” centred globalisation.
The Author
