The bottomline is that the US and China need to work together， and with other countries too， to bring the global system up to date， and to not upend the system. To succeed in this， each must understand the other’s point of view， and reconcile each other’s interests.
Meanwhile，stresses and strains have built up between the two over multiple issues including cyber－espionage， 5G technology， freedom of navigation，human rights，and especially trade， where the two countries have reached an impasse.
If both sides treat their trade dispute purely on its own merits， I have no doubt their trade negotiators will be able to resolve it. But if either side uses trade rules to keep the other down， or one side comes to the conclusion that the other is trying to do this， then the dispute will not be resolved， and the consequences will be far graver than a loss of GDP. The broader bilateral relationship will be contaminated. Other areas will inevitably be affected， including investments， technology， and people－to－ people relations. Every action taken by one side will be seen as a direct
challenge to the other， and will elicit a counter－action. We will all be headed for a more divided and troubled world.
Hardening of attitudes in the US and China
Worryingly， this is starting to happen. Attitudes on both sides have been hardening. The US National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy documents describe China as a “revisionist power” and America’s“strategic competitor”. The recent Presidential Executive Order on securing the information and communications technology and services supply chain， states that it is aimed at “foreign adversaries”. It stopped just short of naming any specific country， but made quite clear what actions the US intends to take. |
