Is the U.S. and China engaged in a new ‘Cold War?’ By Luke Perry

We are in a new era of competition between the U.S. and China, along economic, military, and ideological fronts. Tensions are heating up during the final stretch of the 2020 presidential campaign.

Nina Moore, Professor of Political Science at Colgate University, told Ivory Tower WCNY that the U.S. is partly waging this “multifront war” in traditional means, such as blocking defense exports to China and “dual use” technologies, technologies that are primarily used by civilians but could also have military applications. What is different is how America’s ability to isolate China is “significantly less” than during the Cold War with the Soviet Union because other countries want access Chinese markets.   

“China is the rising power of the twenty-first century,” said Robert Spitzer, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at SUNY Cortland. According to Spitzer, China “uses its economic pressure around the world to gain concessions and gain influence,” while here at home “the U.S. is heavily dependent on China for goods of all kind.” This is problematic in some ways, but the economic interdependence offers hope to mitigate increased hostilities.

Photo from White House

The U.S. has explored other supply chains in the region, like Vietnam, said Rick Fenner, Professor of Economics at Utica College, but “in the short term nothing is going to happen, and even in the long run, shifting away from China is going to be very expensive.”

Fenner believes “the economic integration between the two countries is actually making this much more complex.” Fenner pointed to the trade deficit, which many Americans criticize, while often ignoring a key component.

The deficit has “allowed the U.S. government to spend significantly more than it collects in taxes,” Fenner said. “The trade deficit has left China with huge numbers of U.S. dollars which they then turn around and loan back to the U.S. to help close our budget deficits.”

Photo from Flickr (Etan Liam)

As tensions escalate, Fenner wonders “who is now going to purchase the trillions of dollars of debt we’re currently issuing as part of our response to the pandemic” and “what if China were to go and decide to start selling for over $1 trillion in Treasury debt it’s currently holding?”

According to Fenner, “a simple ‘let’s get tough with China’ policy is not going to be in our best interests.” The U.S. needs a much more “nuanced and delicate strategy.”

Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Government at Utica College