Understanding and Managing Great Power Competition with China

Tensions between the United States and China are escalating in what appears to be a renewal of strategic “great power competition.” But policymakers and analysts disagree on whether the two countries are engaged in a situational contest for power and wealth or an existential ideological struggle. What is driving the strategic competition between Beijing and Washington, and what is the nature and scope of that competition? How should the United States approach its relationship—and its rivalry—with China going forward?

To discuss these important issues, the Center for the National Interest hosted a webinar discussion with three highly-respected experts on October 13, 2020:

· Aaron Friedberg is a Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University and former Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs in the office of Vice President Dick Cheney. He is the respected author of numerous essays and books on international affairs, including A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia.

· Ali Wyne is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute, and a policy analyst at RAND. He is the author of numerous articles and essays on East Asian affairs and co-author of Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States, and the World.

· Paul Heer is a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for the National Interest and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He previously served as National Intelligence Officer for East Asia, and is the author of Mr. X and the Pacific: George Kennan and American Policy in East Asia.

· George Beebe, Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for the National Interest, as well as a former senior officer at the Central Intelligence Agency and staff advisor to Vice President Cheney, moderated the discussion.