The United States and China in the Era of Global Transformations: Geographies of Rivalry

Over the last two decades, China has emerged as one of the most powerful state actors in the post-Cold War international system. This book provides a multifaceted and spatially oriented analysis of how China’s re-emergence as a global power impacts the dominance of the United States as well as domestic state and non-state actors in various world-regions, including the Asia-Pacific, Africa, South America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Europe and the Arctic. Chapters reflect on how and under which conditions competition (and cooperation) between the United States and China vary across these regions and what such variations mean for the prospects of war and peace, universal human dignity and global cooperation. Front Cover 1 The United States and China in the Era of Global Transformations: Geographies of Rivalry 2 Copyright information 3 Table of Contents 4 Notes on Contributors 6 Acknowledgments 11 Part I Introduction, Theory, and the Transnational Sites of Contestations 14 1 Spatial Imaginaries and Geopolitics in US–China Rivalry 16 Introduction 16 Theorizing the puzzle of US–China rivalry 20 State of knowledge: US–China rivalry 23 Summary of chapters 25 References 31 2 The US, China, and the Implications of Uneven and Combined Development 39 The concept of uneven and combined development 40 The rise, and possible fall, of American global dominance 43 Authoritarian capitalism and the rise of China 47 US–China relations and the recurring crisis 50 Conclusion 53 Note 54 References 54 Part II Geographies of Rivalry: Spatializing US–China Relations 58 3 Southeast Asia and the Militarization of the South China Sea 60 Introduction 60 The recent militarization of the South China Sea 63 The South China Sea and the challenges to US–China bilateral relations 72 Conclusion 77 Notes 78 References 78 4 South Asian Contestations and India’s Strategic Role: An Advaita Account 86 Demarcating the historical trajectory 87 Detecting the departure points 91 Delineating the Advaita account 95 Conclusion 103 References 104 5 Northeast Asia and China’s Pursuit of Greatness 110 Introduction 110 From “Middle Kingdom” to “All under Heaven” 111 Debating “All under Heaven”: accommodation to domination 114 Dreaming blue: China’s new great power frontier 117 Ocean’s allure: from democracy to supremacy 119 America’s repositioning effort: pivoting to Asia and merging two oceans 120 Titan showdown: Chinese dream versus American dream 122 Conclusion 124 References 125 6 Africa and US–China Rivalry: Between Webs and Bases 129 Introduction 129 Overview of China–Africa party-to-party relations 133 Party diplomacy during Africa’s anti-colonial struggles 134 Drivers, characteristics, and contents of China–Africa party exchanges 136 Drivers 136 Ideological drivers 136 Commercial drivers 137 Guanxi and network-building 138 Characteristics 140 Course/training contents 140 Challenges: China’s party diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic 141 The Forum of China-Africa Cooperation and elite network-building in China–Africa relations 143 What this means for Africa’s Western partners 144 Conclusion 146 Notes 147 Acknowledgments 148 References 148 7 Latin America and the Caribbean: How the Belt and Road Initiative Diminished US Influence 151 Introduction 151 Background: the institutionalization of the connectivity rhetoric 153 Literature review: smoke and mirrors 156 China–Latin America and Caribbean previous dynamics 158 Motivations and degrees of participation in the Belt and Road Initiative 160 Conclusion 165 References 166 8 The Middle East and Changing Superpower Relations 173 Introduction 173 The US policy toward the Middle East 175 Path dependence and the US presence in the Middle East 176 A path of power politics and interventionism 176 Staying on the path to defend the US hegemonic position 177 China’s policy toward the Middle East 179 Path dependence and China’s presence in the Middle East 180 A path of anti-imperialism and non-intervention 181 Staying on the path to preserve China’s non-interventionist reputation 182 US withdrawal from Afghanistan: a critical juncture? 184 US and China in Afghanistan 185 Continuity in the post-Cold War era 185 The emergence of change 186 Conclusion 188 Note 190 References 190 9 Arctic Interests: How China Is Challenging the US 194 Introduction 194 The geographical context of the Arctic (and near Arctic) 196 Environmental changes in the Arctic 197 China’s Arctic objectives 198 The black swan of the Arctic 199 Analysis: weak signal theory 200 Horizon scanning as a tool for analysis 201 Discussion: analysis of the drivers for Arctic interest by the Chinese 203 Oil and gas 204 Minerals 205 Fisheries 206 Maritime shipping 206 Future scenarios 209 Conclusion 210 Note 211 References 211 10 Europe’s Role in US–China Strategic Competition 219 Introduction 219 China–Europe–US trilateral relations 220 Europe as a site of US–China geopolitical contestation 222 Europe as a participant in US–China geopolitical contestation 226 Conclusion 230 Notes 231 References 232 Part III Conclusions 244 11 Conclusions: Reframing the Puzzle of US–China Rivalry 246 References 253 Index 258