UNITED STATES
C versus
Rumi Khan
hina’s rise is often discussed as inevitable, and for good reason. The country has become an economic powerhouse, with the world’s largest GDP measured in purchasing power. No country has a bigger standing army, and China, with its aggressive foreign policy, massive population, and rich culture, is rightfully regarded as second only to the United States. If China’s nominal GDP surpasses the United States’ in the next few decades, the era of American dominance could finally come to a close. The United States has expressed continuous concern about China’s fast rise as a global superpower. President Donald Trump’s stance, articulated by the administration’s official National Security Strategy, is to label China as a “revisionist” power that must be constrained. Trump has long denounced China’s currency manipulations and lax regulations as hostile to global economic interests, and has since pursued a tariff war against China, perhaps escalating conflict with the rising power. The once-unipolar world order that emerged after the Cold War is already visibly disappearing. The United States’ unambiguous position as world leader has been weakened by military quagmires in the Middle East, rapid economic advancements in the European Union, and diplomatic breakdowns associated with Trump’s election, which shook international trust in the United States and weakened its standing on the world stage. Yet despite all of this, the United States still maintains global hegemony. The Bretton Woods system created after World War II has endured: American-founded institutions like the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, and the World Bank maintain global political and economic
SUMMER 2019 HARVARD POLITICAL REVIEW 29