‘The USA is facing an existential threat in the form of China, that is much more challenging than the erstwhile Soviet Union.’ Explain.

It is rightly said the 21st century is Asian century, which is being led by China and this brings China in direct confrontation with the USA which is known for its hegemony since the end of the second world war. During the period of 1940-1990, there has been a direct confrontation with erstwhile Russia, but the competition with China is different in the sense:

• Ideological vs Economical War: USA and USSR were locked in ideological battle China continues to be the world’s largest supplier of rare earth, used for high-technology consumer products and military equipment, accounting for roughly 90 percent of the world’s production and a lion’s share of the United States’ imports.

• Bipolar vs Multipolar world: World was Bipolar thus all the countries were forced to fall in either of the two camps, but today the world is in flux, no one knows who stands where.

• Pax Americana vs Indo-pacific: The 20th century was known as US dictating relations with the countries, but today with the centrality of the Indian ocean, US is looking for a partner to check China which was not the case with confrontation with the USSR.

• Restricted USSR vs Diversified China: USSR was restricted largely to Eurasia, while China is following Belt and Road initiative enveloping the countries from Eurasian region to African continent.

• Military vs Currency War: USA and USSR were locked in military race, evident in stockpiling of conventional and non-conventional weapons while China does carefully manage its currency to keep the yuan at a stable and targeted value through a host of measures, chiefly through buying and selling U.S. dollar bonds and controlling the outflow of yuan from its borders.

The war between China and the USA is very different from the times of the USSR, as it is about who will rule the coming century. The coming age will be defined by technology, not by military might, which makes the case for existential threat for the USA.