Perception and Misperception in U.S.-China Relations

Abstract

IN 2020, RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are characterized by a climate of confrontation.1 Tensions have escalated across a range of military, economic, and technology issues to the point that each side is portraying the other in stark adversarial terms. U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo has described the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as “truly hostile to the United States,” and Beijing perceives senior officials in Washington as possessing considerable “hostility” toward China.2 Indeed, some seasoned scholars opine that the temperature of U.S.-China relations is at its lowest point in decades.3 What is the most accurate way to depict the current relationship between the global hegemon and the world’s most potent rising power? How did U.S.-China relations get to this point? Where is the relationship headed? To outline up front the answers to these questions: In 2020, the U.S.-China relationship is best characterized as full-blown great-power rivalry. This rivalry has been building for decades with many tensions submerged and simmering, bursting to the surface in recent years while seemingly coming out of nowhere. The future of U.S.-China relations is shrouded in uncertainty, and the possibility of a near term thaw seems most unlikely.