John S. Van Oudenaren, National Interest: America Has Leverage with China that It Lacks With Russia
And Washington should use it to tilt great-power politics in its favor.
At present, U.S. foreign policy confronts a difficult dilemma concerning China. There is a growing consensus in Washington that China is America’s primary strategic competitor, if not adversary. However, most of Washington’s other major foreign-policy challenges, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, withdrawing from Afghanistan and an intensifying strategic contest with Russia, are rendered more manageable if Washington preserves a working relationship with Beijing.
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WNU Editor: Washington can debate all that it wants on whether China is America’s primary strategic competitor and/or adversary. But I do know that for the past few decades China has viewed the U.S. as its adversary (not competitor), and its priority has been to confront America on the economic/geopolitical/and military level in Asia and beyond. As to the question .... does the U.S. have leverage over China? I think that ship sailed about 5 - 7 years ago. China is now too big to be severely hampered on the economic level, and I give it another 10 years (if not sooner) before it can easily outmatch America's military power in Eastern Asia and the Pacific.
