Whatdoes US foreign policy mean for the PRCsglobal interest?IntroductionU.S. foreign policy is a conflation of competing interests within the US and not a unified policy objective even though it may appear to be that way when reported by the mainstream media. But when it comes to US foreign policy and China, the messaging seems to be consistent; in part due to the threat that China poses to the US superpower status. This essay will look at how US foreign policy is defined and the examine its recent past with respect to China. It will examine foreign policy in the 21st century and show how China and the US share very common objectives in their foreign policy. This essay will also look at US foreign policy and Taiwan as it conflicts with Chinas global interests. Finally, it will explain US foreign policy as a countermeasure to the ascendancy of Chinas meteoric rise and question if there is an inevitability that these two superpowers interests will eventually converge.How is US foreign policy defined?U.S foreignpolicy is orchestrated by the National Security Council and that in itselfcomprises of offices that report to the Executive; the President. The Office ofthe President directs U.S. foreign policy with advice from the following; theSecretary of State, the National Security Advisor to the President, theSecretary of Defence, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and theDirector of Central Intelligence. Their combined role is to apprise the Officeof the President with information concerning the U.S. national interestsoverseas (Sobel, 2011).However, thedirection of foreign affairs is managed by the President and the Secretary ofState; whom the President appoints. In other words, depending on the agenda ofthe President and his/her election promises, the U.S. national interests arewhat the President determines to be the U.S. national interest. This may bealigned with a political party, U.S. allies interests or exigent circumstancesand the interests of the Deep State (Sobel, 2011). Apart from theNational Security Council, Congress has an input into U.S. foreign policy fortwo reasons. First, Congress needs to be aware of foreign policy considerationsbecause it has to deliberate the policy issues and implications and its effectson the nation. The views of individual members of Congress, regardless of theirleanings or party affiliation, have an input in policy moulding. Secondly,Congress has to approve the funding for all foreign policy initiatives as partof the governments annual budget and through additional appropriations. Withthe agenda of the President and potential moderation from Congress, U.S.national interests are shaped by a multitude of influences and it cannot beidentified as realists, neoliberal etc. However, in practice, U.S. foreign policy seems to move in one directionregardless of which President controls the White House or which party controlsCongress. This notion of the Deep State has been the consensus for over 30years but it would appear that the election of Donald Trump as president haschallenged the power f the so-called Deep State.Foreign policy in the 21st centuryForeign policy in the 21st century isnt just about national interests anymore; most liberal economies share the same foreign policy. Most countries now have a foreign policy that includes initiatives on cybercrime from overseas non-state actors, international terrorism, climate change and environment, international health concerns such as AIDS, refugee and international settlement, international trade agreements etc (Mitchell, 2017). All these are now core issues of foreign policy for almost every nation; this is the same for the US and China. In fact, one would argue that they largely share the same global interests. Except for to the traditional U.S. concerns such as Middle East policies, threats from Russia, obligations of NATO, economic threats to the U.S. dollar, dealing with crises, settling disputes and preventing the outbreak of conflicts and maintaining a peaceful world, the US and China have similar global interests (Andrews, 1994). In fact, in amultipolar world, global interests are no longer the remit of individual nationstates but multilateral bodies which are both regional and international. Someof these global interests are increasing in scope and technical complexity; agood example is combating cyber attacks and cyber warfare from non-stateactors. As nations become more interconnected and borders melt away because ofthe communication revolution and the 4th industrial revolution, internationaldiplomacy is no longer hierarchical but convoluted; a matrix of relationshipsand dependencies. Multilateralinstitutions play a very important role in both the US and Chinas foreignpolicies. Good examples of the conflationof Chinas and US global interests are the recentParis Agreement on Climate Change, regulations on airspace and control, cross-border transactions, border security,international agreements on food safety, collaboration with health, medicineand pharmaceutical standards. In a multipolar world with ever decreasingnational borders, and greater telecommunications connectivity, it isincreasingly becoming harder to see where the US and Chinas global interests start and stop (Holsti, 2009). China, Taiwan and the USWhen it comes to Chinas global interest, Taiwan and the Cross-Strait relations plays an important part because it conflates with US foreign policy. The Cross-Strait relations are a tripartite relationship between Taiwan, China and the United States. Over the last three decades, the relationship has been somewhat stable but punctuated with threats of use of force and appeasement. On the one hand, China has always stressed that Taiwan is part of its One China policy but always threatening that it would use force if Taiwan ever decided to secede and declare independence. Taiwan has been smart and refrained from actually declaring formal independence but continually threatening to do so yet maintaining a close economic relationship with China for its own benefit (Hsieh, 2016). On occasion, Taiwan threatens China with talks of breaking the One China policy. The United States has been involved in the tripartite relationship by acting an independent referee or umpire over the last three decades. TheUS foreign policy faces several important challenges in the region least ofwhich would be the fact that if there was a dispute or escalation of tensionsor outright war between China and Taiwan, the US would inevitably be draggedinto a war it must win on two fronts; militarily because of its might andeconomically because of its position in world trade. China rightly sees it as awar on two fronts which would be counterproductive to its aims of modernizationand its national interests. The US deterrence and Chinaseconomic reform has by and large kept the extended peace; additionally,Taiwans refrain from declaring independence has subdued the confrontation (Wu, 2005). That is not to saythat there is no such desire for independence but that there are political andeconomic constraints to doing so at this point in time. At least that wasbefore the 2016 elections in Taiwan. The close ties the United States has with Taiwan is crucial despite the fact that they do not have any diplomatic ties or arrangement even though the United States has a huge economic trade with Taiwan. In fact, Taiwan ranks as the 9th largest trading partner of the United States; a surprising fact given its relative size. The United States still has political links with Taiwan as it does with any fledgeling democracy; which Taiwan has clearly demonstrated it is. As such the United States might feel obliged to come to its aid given the democratic values it shares and the economic relationship it has fostered over the years (Rowen, 2015). On the contrary, there is the view that when one considers the geopolitics of the region, it is crucial for the United States to have as many allies as possible given the meteoric rise of China and the possibility that it will threaten the US as the worlds hyperpower. Having Taiwan as a buffer to Chinas geopolitical expansion serves the interest of the United States. At the same time, many draw the point that China is the largest trading partner of the United States so it needs to be careful how it manages the Cross-Strait relations; it does not want to alienate is largest trading partner but at the same time it needs to keep a close eye on its political rival (Schubert, 2010). In addition to this dilemma is the case of North Korea which is still technically at war with the United States. The war on terror has a front in parts of South East Asia which means the United States has a vested interest in the region and given its rapid spread, needs the support of China. Given the competing interests, the United States has to prevent a war between Taiwan and China meaning that it is in its interest to prevent Taiwanese independence and assert the One China policy (Andrews, 1994). If for any reason a war did break out between China and Taiwan over the issue of independence, the United States will certainly be between a rock and a hard place. Chinas rise; Americas declineEvery aspect of Chinasascendency almost invariably challenges the hegemony of the United States. Ingeopolitics, power abhors a vacuum and where one sees China flexing itseconomic and political might, it is surreptitiously coming into conflict withAmerican interests. Chinas rise does imply American decline and willultimately lead to a confrontation between the two powers (Financial Times, 2016). It is easy to forget that in1820, Greece had revolted against the Ottoman Empire, Britain had opened thefirst modern railway and was on its way to an exploding industrial revolution,Brazil had nervously declared independence from Portugal and that China was theworlds superpower with the largest share of global GDP. History has beenwritten specifically to gloss over these facts. Western academia has repeatedlyhighlighted China as a collective of starved, dispossessed and slaughteredpeople and not a prosperous, dynamic and global power from 1100 1820. From1078, China was the worlds major producer of steel, the worlds leader intechnical innovations, the worlds leading trading nation, possessed thelargest commercial ships and these are just to mention a few. Few academics would now dispute that China was theworlds hyperpower for 800 yearsbefore the rise of British imperialism in the 19th century. Westernimperialism and Chinas decline has been documented in detail which this essaycannot do justice to. The rise of Chinese economic and political strength isunquestionably due to the Communist Party of China which began when the ThirdPlenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of Communist Party of Chinaadopted a reform policy triggering the private sector[1]. One example of where a Chinese ascendency willconflict with US dominance is in the sphere of international banking where theU.S. has had complete control since the Second World War. With the criticism that the World Bank is an instrument ofAmerican foreign policy (the World Bank Group president has always been a U.S.citizen nominated by the US), China has nurtured the desire to exert itselfunto the world stage. In addition, the reforms repeatedly called for by Chinaat the World Bank, IMF and ADB have been unheeded. The Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank is a China-led financialinstitution designed to lend to development of infrastructure and otherproductive sectors in Asia. Examples of the sort of investments would beprojects on water and sanitation, land and environmental development,telecommunications, technology and innovation, agriculture and ruraldevelopment etc. The original 10-member nation-statesignatories ratified the AIIB articles on 25th December 2015 andbegan with a capital of US$100 billion. AIIB is headquartered in Beijing, Chinawith a current membership of 57 and an Asian and Oceania outlook. All G8members have joined the AIIB except the United States and Japan. If the last 30years of Chinese ambitions are anything to go by, the AIIB will surpass thedominance and output of the World Bank sometime in the second half of thiscentury (Eckart, 2016). Another area where Chinas ascendancy will directly challenge the U.S. is international trade.The One Belt, One Road Initiative is seen as the next frontier in which Chinawill dominate international trade at the expense of the U.S. In Imperial China, the Silk Road served asa vast trade network across Asia reaching Europe on land (and from the SouthChina Sea to the Mediterranean Sea). Originally derived from the trade of silk,it grew to include other goods as well as act as a conduit for technology,philosophies, art and cultural influences. Used by the Greeks, Syrians, Romans,Arabs, Turks, Indians and of course the Chinese, it survived for centuries.Chinese President Xi Jinping initiated the policy in 2013 with the view tobuilding an economic link between China, Asia, Africa and Europe via road linksand seaports. The plan is so audaciousthat it will attempt to cover countries that represent 55% of the worlds GDP,70% of the worlds population and three-quartersof the worlds known energy reserves. One Belt, One Road initiative is not only an economicoffensive but a geopolitical and diplomatic offensive causing considerableconsternation amongst political observers who argue that China risks stirringopposition from its neighbours. The Belt is land-based while the Road is sea-based.A series of planned and future infrastructure projects are expected to build orlink ports, maritime passages such as rivers and canals, roads, airports,railways, oil and gas pipelines, power plants, refineries, Free Trade Zoneswith the express purpose of creating a connectivity to enable Chineseexpansion. Another way of looking at this initiative is to cast ones mind backto the U.S. Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after WWII although one must notethat the Marshall Plan was a series of grants and not loans. What do these bothspell for Chinas future and Americas decline? At this point, there arecertainly more questions than answers (MOFCOM, 2017).ConclusionThe UnitedStates and China have a lot in common because foreign policy in the 21stcentury has more commonalities than it did in the 19th-century world of realpolitik. Their national interests converge more than theydiverge. But where they do diverge, itseems they have managed to find a workable alliance. Whether its on issues aboutTaiwan, international trade or the One Belt One Road Initiative, US foreignpolicy and Chinas global interest are aligned in many ways.BibliographyAndrews, D. (1994). Capital Mobilityand State Autonomy: Toward a Structural Theory of International MonetaryRelations. International Studies Quarterly, 38(2), 193-218.cogitAsia. (2015, July 7). By theNumbers: China and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).Retrieved February 2017, from Center for Strategic & International Studies cogitAsia blog:https://www.cogitasia.com/by-the-numbers-china-the-asian-infrastructure-investment-bank-aiib/Eckart, J. (2016, June 23). 8things you need to know about Chinas economy. Retrieved from WorldEconomic Forum:https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/06/8-facts-about-chinas-economy/Ferdinand, P. (2016). Westward ho the China dream and one belt, one road: Chinese foreign policy under XiJinping. International Affairs, pp 941-957.Financial Times. (2015, June 29). AIIBLaunch Signals Chinas New Ambition. Retrieved February 2017, fromFinancial Times: https://www.ft.com/content/5ea61666-1e24-11e5-aa5a-398b2169cf79Financial Times. (2016, August 12). HinkleyPoint is a test of mutual trust between UK and China. Retrieved February2017, from Financial Times:https://www.ft.com/content/b8bc62dc-5d74-11e6-bb77-a121aa8abd95Gregory, N., Tenev, S., & Wagle,D. (2000). Chinas Emerging Private Enterprises: Prospects for The NewCentury. Washington D.C.: International Finance Corporation (IFC).Retrieved January 9, 2017Holsti, O. (2009). Public Opinionand American Foreign Policy. Universiy of Michigan Press.Hsieh, J. (2016). Taiwans 2016elections: critical elections? American Journal of Chinese Studies, 23(1),9-23.Information Office of the StateCouncil (PRC). (2014, July 10). Chinas Foreign Aid. Retrieved February2017, from Xinhuanet: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-07/10/c_133474011.htmLe Corre, P., & Sepulchre, A.(2016). Chinas Offensive in Europe. Washington, DC: BrookingsInstitution Press.Lin, T., Yun-han, C., & Hinch, M.(1996). Conflict displacement and regime transition in Taiwan: a spatialanalysis. World Politics, 48(4), 453-481.Mitchell, T. (2017, August 20). Chinahas most to lose in US trade showdown. Retrieved from Financial Times:https://www.ft.com/content/0f5c9b52-83f3-11e7-a4ce-15b2513cb3ffMOFCOM. (2017, September 13). ChinaFTA Network. Retrieved from Ministry of Commerce, Peoples Republic ofChina: http://fta.mofcom.gov.cn/english/Naim, M. (2009). Minilateralism. ForeignPolicy, Vol. 173, 135-136. Retrieved February 2017Ntousas, V. (2016). Back to theFuture: Chinas One Belt, One Road Initiative. Brussels: Foundation forEuropean Progressive Studies.Petras, J. (2012, March 7). China:Rise, Fall and Re-Emergence as a Global Power. Retrieved September 13,2017, from Global Research: http://www.globalresearch.ca/china-rise-fall-and-re-emergence-as-a-global-power/29644Risse-Kappen, T. (1991). PublicOpinion, domestic structure and foreign policy in lebral democracies. WorldPolitics, Vol. 43(Iss. 4), pp. 479-512.Rowen, I. (2015). Inside TaiwansSunflower Movement: Twenty-Four Days in a Student-Occupied Parliament, and theFuture of the Region. The Journal of Asian Studies, 74(1), 5-21.Schubert, G. (2010). The PoliticalThinking of the Mainland Taishang: Some Preliminary observations from theField. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs(1), 73-105.Sobel, R. (2011). The Impact ofPublic Opinion on US Foreign Policy SInce Vietnam: Constraining the Colossus.Oxford University Press.The World Bank. (2016, November 26). ChinaOverview. Retrieved from The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overviewWu, Y. S. (2005). Taiwans domesticpolitics and cross-strait relations. The China Journal, 1(53), 35-60.[1] From December 18 to 22, 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11thCentral Committee of Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. The partydecided that China should start shift its economic focus from classstruggle-oriented to economic construction-oriented, fromsemi-rigid/rigid to comprehensive reform, and, fromsemi-closed/closed to opening up. (Peoples Daily Online, 2008)Get Help With Your EssayIf you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!Find out more
