Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, C. Fred Bergsten and others are pushing for the United States and China to jointly tackle issues of global concern. The thinking goes that the so-called G2 partnership is central and the relationship should be strengthened. In the current issue of Foreign Affairs, Elizabeth C. Economy and Adam Segal, both senior fellows at the Council on Foreign Relations, counter this opinion in The G-2 Mirage (subscription only).
“A heightened bilateral relationship may not be possible for China and the United States, as the two countries have mismatched interests and values,” write Economy and Segal. “Washington should embrace a more flexible and multilateral approach.”
“Although the United States needs to coordinate with China to respond to global challenges, elevating the bilateral relationship is more likely to lead to a quagmire, with recriminations flying back and forth, than to a successful partnership. To escape this downward spiral, Washington must solicit the help of the rest of the world. The United States is not alone in recognizing that China affects all the critical issues of the day or in seeking more from China as an emerging global power. Throughout the world, countries are realizing that the issues that currently define their relationships with Beijing cannot simply be negotiated bilaterally.”
Photo from Saul Loeb-AFP/Getty Images.
