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The United States vs. China
Book

The United States vs. China

The Quest for Global Economic Leadership

C. Fred Bergsten
Polity Press, 2022

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Visionary
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

Eminent policy expert C. Fred Bergsten’s starting point in this compelling look at the future world order seems straightforward: The systematic economic leadership of the United States has led to functioning global financial markets and a free and open world trading system. But what’s not so simple is how these “global public goods” will survive in changing geopolitical times. Bergsten cogently argues that China’s help in ensuring their continuation is crucial, making US–China cooperation imperative – even as the two nations fiercely compete in other arenas. Bergsten offers readers an original way of understanding complex geopolitical issues.

Take-Aways

  • The 1930s illustrate what happens when the world economy lacks a leader providing “global public goods.”
  • A period in which dominance shifts from one country to another is more likely to have inadequate leadership and even dangerous rivalries.
  • China benefited from the US-promoted open trading system, but it did not move closer to Western values and norms.

About the Author

C. Fred Bergsten is a nonresident senior fellow and director emeritus at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He has held numerous positions in government, including at the US Treasury (1977–1981), on the National Security Council (1969–1971) and on the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations during the Trump administration.

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