Conclusions: Reframing the Puzzle of US–China Rivalry

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the volume’s findings concerning US–China bilateral relations and its varying impacts on various regions of the world, amidst crisis-ridden world politics. This chapter highlights several conclusions. First, the need to accumulate capital and crucial resources for continued economic growth are crucial factors in shaping the trajectory of the rivalry, although the precise conditions of such a need depends on where this economic conflict occurs. Second, intersubjective interpretations about physical geography and social relations play an important role in the trajectory of great power relations. Third, understanding how intersubjective meanings about physical geography change over time provides important insights in the analysis of US–China rivalry. Fourth, the manifestations of how physical geography emerges as the locus of contestation between great power could be investigated through the developments in institutional structures. Fifth, the formations and transformations of US–China rivalry ultimately depend on one’s positionality in a highly interdependent global order: across various world-regions, temporal conditions, and socioeconomic backgrounds.