Gideon Rachman
American and Chinese foreign policy sometimes feel like mirror images. The Americans are obsessed by containing Chinese power. The Chinese are obsessed by containing American power.
But the mirroring stops when it comes to how these policies are executed. Washington and Beijing bring different strengths to their battle for power and influence. As a result, they are pursuing different strategies.
America’s singular strength is its military might and its willingness to offer security guarantees to its allies. The US has collective defence agreements with 56 countries around the world — in Europe, Asia and the Americas. It also provides crucial military aid to other countries, such as Israel and Ukraine, that are not formal treaty allies.
China, by contrast, has a mutual defence treaty with just one country — North Korea. Unlike the US, it also has territorial disputes with many of its neighbours, which tends to push them in the direction of America.
But when it comes to economic relations, China has the advantage.
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