China’s Challenge. The American Elite in Search of an Answer

The article is devoted to the study of the process of shaping the U.S. policy towards the People’s Republic of China. In the context of the evolution of Washington’s Chinese strategy and deepening crisis of globalization, the approaches of leading political and ideological groups within the American ruling elite to the problem of the necessary response to China’s “global challenge” are analyzed. It is noted that there is a convergence of positions of the leading groups on key issues of the U.S.-China relations. First of all, most share the view that the United States should oppose China because it is a rival (competitor, opponent, enemy); only progressives believe that Beijing should become a partner. At the same time, it is recognized that China is superior to America in some areas (for example, in the military) at this stage. Therefore, it is impossible to provoke a conflict with it, and not only a “hot”, but even a “cold” one would be a path to escalation and American defeat. Overthrowing the Chinese Communist Party regime also seems impossible. Accordingly, the majority of political and expert groups proposes a policy of conflict-free “managed coexistence”, which will buy time to change the balance of power in favor of the United States, and only after that it will be possible to begin a full-fledged “containment”. The majority also shares the opinion that presidents D. Trump and J. Biden had previously generally followed the right line with regard to China. They showed “strategic patience,” did not provoke Beijing, and ensured sustainable coexistence. At the same time, Biden placed more emphasis on the foreign relations (anti-Chinese alliances), and Trump – on the domestic economy (reindustrialization). It is concluded that, in general, there is a bipartisan consensus in the United States regarding the Chinese strategy, and Trump will have to follow it.