China in the World

Over the past few years, Europe and the United States have each approached China’s rise differently. Washington has moved to reduce its economic reliance on Beijing while castigating its increasingly assertive global stance. Brussels, on the other hand, has tried to insulate its business ties with China from its concerns about Chinese policies and ambitions. Europe and China jointly proposed the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), while German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emanuel Macron strived to keep the continent’s relations with Beijing on solid footing. Recently, however, it appears as though Europe has shifted course to align elements of its China strategy more closely with those of the United States. The CAI has been shelved, and France and Germany have announced plans to play a larger role in the South China Sea disputes. How will Europe manage its relationship with Beijing going forward? And how should Europe deal with worsening U.S.-China relations? During a live recording of the China in the World podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Rosa Balfour, director of Carnegie Europe, and Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, on the trajectory of U.S.-EU-China relations. This panel is the fifth of the Carnegie Global Dialogue Series 2020-2021 and is also available to be watched online.

Conflict and instability in the Middle East show no signs of abating. Recent jousting between Israeli and Palestinian forces, the ongoing war in Yemen, and continued Saudi Arabia-Iran friction threaten to further destabilize the region. Though President Biden is attempting to restore coherence in the U.S. approach to the Middle East, his administration remains focused on responding to the pandemic domestically and on countering China in the international arena. Beijing, for its part, appears intent on playing a larger role in Middle Eastern affairs. It continues to foster stronger ties with regional countries through its Belt and Road Initiative and bilateral cooperation agreements, such as the twenty-five-year investment deal with Iran. How will China’s growing influence in the region affect the interests of the United States and other actors?During a live recording of the China in the World podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment’s Middle East Program, and He Wenping, a professor at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. This panel is the fourth of the Carnegie Global Dialogue Series 2020-2021 and is also available to be watched online.

The Biden administration has an opportunity to recalibrate U.S. China policy to better reflect current realities. Has the administration been effective in laying the groundwork for strategic competition with China? How can Washington maintain a competitive relationship with Beijing while minimizing the risk of conflict? What did the U.S.-China Anchorage summit signal about the trajectory of U.S.-China relations? On this joint episode of the China in the World podcast and Polaris-Live, Paul Haenle joined Sarwar Kashmeri to discuss U.S.-China relations 100 days into the Biden administration. The discussion was hosted by Polaris-Live, in conjunction with the Foreign Policy Association of New York, and can be viewed online.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ59Nf_inhA&ab_channel=SarwarKashmeri

While U.S.-China and U.S.-Russia relations have steadily deteriorated, China-Russia cooperation has grown in its stead. On the heels of the contentious U.S.-China Alaska summit, Chinese and Russian foreign ministers met in Guilin to discuss bilateral cooperation on a range of issues and even published a joint statement promoting a shared vision for global governance. However, it is unclear to what extent Russian and Chinese interests will continue to converge. Although both nations have found a common adversary in the United States, any divergence of Russian or Chinese interests could create roadblocks to the two countries’ warming relations. Given China’s increasing economic and political clout, how will Russia manage the relationship in a way that concurrently maintains cooperation with China and protects its own national interests? Will China continue to view Russia as a security and economic partner? And how does the United States view and approach strong China-Russia ties?During a live recording of the China in the World podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Andrew Weiss, James Family Chair and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment, Guan Guihai, associate professor at and executive vice president of the Institute of International and Strategic Studies at Peking University, and Vita Spivak, analyst at Control Risks, a global consulting firm, on recent developments in China-Russia relations and their implications for the United States. This panel was hosted as the third of the Carnegie Global Dialogue Series 2020-2021 and is also available to be watched online.

As President Biden wraps up his first 100 days in office, there remain significant questions surrounding the future of U.S.-China ties. How has the bilateral relationship changed? Will the Biden administration maintain the Trump administration’s policy of strategic competition? How has Beijing responded so far? On this joint episode of the China in the World podcast and AmCham Shanghai’s China Voices podcast, Paul Haenle joined Kate Magill to discuss the state of U.S.-China relations after Biden’s first 100 days. For more in-depth analysis on Biden’s 100 days, be sure to check out Haenle’s recently published piece “Setting the Table for U.S.-China Strategic Competition.” Link: https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/04/27/setting-table-for-u.s.-china-strategic-competition-pub-84378

As the U.S.-China relationship becomes more competitive, how should the Biden administration approach ties with Beijing? What concepts should guide Washington’s China policy? In part two of this two-part podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Ali Wyne, senior analyst with Eurasia Group’s Global Macro practice, about four principles the administration should follow to formulate a sustainable U.S. strategy toward China.

As the U.S.-China relationship becomes more competitive, how should the Biden administration approach ties with Beijing? What concepts should guide Washington’s China policy? In part one of this two-part podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Ali Wyne, senior analyst with Eurasia Group's Global Macro practice, about four principles the administration should follow to formulate a sustainable U.S. strategy toward China.

Last year’s Mamallapuram summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the historically tense China-India relationship was warming considerably. 2020, however, has been a markedly difficult year for the two countries. The ongoing Himalayan border conflict has plunged bilateral ties into crisis, and New Delhi has taken steps to limit Chinese investment into India and banned hundreds of Chinese mobile applications. While the border situation has stabilized over the past couple months, the future of China-India relations remains uncertain. What has driven the relationship’s deterioration, and is there any chance the two countries can get back on track? During a live recording of the China in the World podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Ashley Tellis, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Han Hua, associate professor at Peking University, about the trajectory of China-India ties and the prospect for improved relations between Asia’s two largest countries.

While the recent election of Joe Biden likely signals a raft of domestic political changes, its impact on U.S.-China relations remains unclear. The Trump administration has remolded the relationship, which is now defined by confrontations over economic practices, emerging technologies, and security. There is also growing bipartisan support for pursuing a tougher approach to China, and the Justice, State, and Defense departments are increasingly prioritizing new initiatives to push back on Beijing. Will Biden maintain the confrontational tone and policies of his predecessor? Or will he devise an entirely different posture toward Beijing? The answers to these questions will not only have critical consequences for the two countries in question, but for the broader international community as well. During a live recording of the China in the World podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Evan Feigenbaum, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Xie Tao, dean of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, on how the Biden administration might approach China, as well as how Beijing is gearing up for the new U.S. president.

President-elect Joe Biden will enter the White House with challenging domestic and foreign policy agendas. Where does China rank on the Biden administration’s priority list? How is Beijing likely to respond to Biden’s election, and what are the implications for U.S. policy in the Asia-Pacific? On this collaborative episode of the China in the World podcast and the Carnegie Endowment’s The World Unpacked podcast, Paul Haenle joined Laura Lucas Magnuson, Carnegie's vice president for communications and strategy, to discuss the future of U.S.-China relations.