What Lies Ahead for Future U.S.-China Relations?

The U.S.-China relationship is complicated. As tensions rise, fears of escalating conflict grow. What factors will influence the future of U.S.-China relations?

In Chapter 2 of the American Statecraft Program's newest volume, Evan Medeiros lays out the critical factors that will drive Washington and Beijing's relationship toward one of five different possible scenarios, ranging from a global condominium to a new cold war. Medeiros also offers recommendations for policymakers on managing competition through strategic uses of risk and friction and clear, credible, and consistent communication.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace generates strategic ideas and independent analysis, supports diplomacy, and trains the next generation of international scholar-practitioners to help countries and institutions take on the most difficult global problems and advance peace.