U.S. Competitive Approach to the PRC: Active Burden-Shifting Strategy

Affiliation: Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian academy of Science (IMEMO)
Address: Moscow, Russian Federation

Journal name

Mirovaia ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia

Edition

Volume 67 Issue 3

Pages

90-101

Abstract

By the time Donald Trump came to the White House, the American political elites and expert community had developed a consensual perception that China’s strategy was aimed at challenging the U.S. dominance and threatening its national interests. The United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China, adopted by the Trump Republican Administration but reflecting a bipartisan position, marked the most dramatic shift in policy towards China since Richard Nixon. The main change was the recognition of the competitive nature of the U.S.–China relations, which resulted in the development and subsequent implementation of a competitive approach to relations with the PRC. This approach is largely based on the experience and theoretical concepts developed during confrontation with the Soviet Union but there are significant differences primarily due to the limitations imposed by interdependence of the American and Chinese economies, which did not exist between the U.S. and the USSR. The first part of the article reveals the concept and principles of the competitive approach, a commitment to which has been reiterated by the Biden administration. It is stated that such approach aims at forcing the PRC to change its strategy that threatens American interests. This goal is achieved by applying a complex pressure on the military and strategic, socioeconomic and politico-ideological strands through implementation of four types of competitive strategies identified by the U.S. expert community: strategies of denial, “cost-imposing” strategies, attacking the enemy’s strategy, and attacking the adversary’s political system. Their implementation is illustrated predominantly in the cases of the American–Soviet confrontation. Using the active “burden-shifting” strategy as an example, the second (practical) part of the study offers the most recent evidence of the “cost-imposing” strategy based on the principle of exploiting an enemy’s vulnerabilities in the most efficient way. It demonstrates how Washington’s approach to Afghanistan was transformed within such a strategy. The reasons for the formation, development process and the main ideas of the strategy are described in detail. It is acknowledged that the close-out of the U.S.-led security mission in Afghanistan was largely driven by the intention to shift the responsibility for the security in the region to the PRC. The study ends with examples of American competitive strategies towards China and points out that several dozens of such strategies are in the expert examination and analysis phase. It is stated that there are no guaranteed tools for the Chinese leadership to counter the U.S. competitive approach, and the PRC is not enough prepared for a full-scale contest with the United States. The study concludes that it would be better for Beijing to delay transition to open competition in the bilateral relations.

Keywords

United States of America, competitive approach, U.S.–China relations, foreign policy, “cost-imposing” strategy, active “burden-shifting” strategy, Afghanistan, People's Republic of China, Belt and Road Initiative

Received

23.05.2023

Publication date

23.05.2023

Number of characters

35720

Cite

GOST	Kuznetsov N. U.S. Competitive Approach to the PRC: Active “Burden-Shifting” Strategy // Mirovaia ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia – 2023. – V. 67. – Issue 3 C. 90-101 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/meimo/s013122270025697-7-1-en (circulation date: 28.07.2024). DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2023-67-3-90-101
MLA	Kuznetsov, Nikita D "U.S. Competitive Approach to the PRC: Active “Burden-Shifting” Strategy." Mirovaia ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia 67.3 (2023):90-101. DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2023-67-3-90-101
APA	Kuznetsov N. (2023). U.S. Competitive Approach to the PRC: Active “Burden-Shifting” Strategy. Mirovaia ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia 67(3), pp.90-101 DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2023-67-3-90-101

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1	ВСТУПЛЕНИЕ
2	В последнее время тема американо-китайского соперничества является одной из главных в исследованиях, посвященных международным отношениям. Немало аспектов этого противостояния изучено российскими политологами. Например, трансформация подходов политических элит США в контексте борьбы за глобальное лидерство рассмотрена в статье ведущего отечественного американиста Ф. Войтоловского [1]. Современные аспекты военно-технологического противостояния подробно освещались В. Кашиным [2] и Л. Панковой [3]. Экономическая составляющая двусторонних отношений, включая последствия заключенной в 2020 г. торговой сделки, проанализирована в работе В. Михеева и С. Луконина [4]. Китайские подходы к взаимоотношениям с США представлены в трудах А. Ломанова [5].
3	Администрация Д. Трампа открыла новую страницу в американо-китайском соперничестве, отказавшись от политики вовлечения в пользу конкурентного подхода. Этот подход сохранился и при Байдане, и, по-видимому, с определенными корректировками он продолжится при следующих президентах. Представляется, что детальное изучение нового этапа в американо-китайском противостоянии выглядит особенно актуальным в свете заявления главы канцелярии Комиссии ЦК КПК по иностранным делам, члена Политбюро Яна Цзечи о недопустимости использования конкуренции в качестве характеристики двусторонних отношений [ист. 1].
4	Представленная автором вашему вниманию работа – это попытка объяснить, что подразумевается под конкурентным подходом, как строятся отношения в парадигме “стратег–конкурент”, а также подробно рассмотреть опыт применения стратегии навязывания издержек. Практическое воплощение других видов стратегий иллюстрируется на конкретных примерах.
5	КОНКУРЕНТНЫЙ ПОДХОД
6	С середины 1990-х годов в США появляются эксперты¹, которые указывают на рост влияния Китая и перспективу конфронтации с ним. Их аргументы сначала не были услышаны из-за увеличения американо-китайского товарооборота и получаемых американскими компаниями прибылей, что делало невозможным ограничение двусторонней торговли или введение существенных санкций в отношении КНР. А потом, в 2000-е годы, перспектива американо-китайской конфронтации была отодвинута на второй план борьбой с терроризмом. Между тем стратегия вовлечения (strategy of engagement), проводившаяся Соединенными Штатами в 1990–2000-е годы в отношении Китая [ист. 2, p. 29], рассматривалась этими экспертами в качестве первопричины усиления его политического веса и растущего дисбаланса в двусторонних экономических отношениях.	1. В их числе были, например, А. Фридберг, Дж. Дрейер и Т. Манкен.
7	Двадцатилетняя дискуссия американского политико-экспертного сообщества о необходимости отказа от курса, который “не делает ничего, кроме того, что усиливает Китай”, завершилась в середине 2010-х годов формированием двухпартийного консенсуса. К настоящему времени и республиканцы, и демократы согласны с утверждением, что экономические преимущества от сотрудничества с Пекином не могут компенсировать его политические последствия.

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