Leadership and Power Game in a Multi-Polarizing World: The Competition between the US and China

Alexandra Jingsi Ni
2020 Open Journal of Political Science  
The vigorous rise of China has deeply impressed the world. Many believers of the power transition theory suspect that an increasingly powerful China would ultimately threaten the global domination of the US, i.e. the China Threat thesis (中国威胁论), and replace the US to become the next hegemon. However, the reality is far more complex and complicated than this provocative prophecy, which necessitates a piece of holistic research to shed light on the escalating competition between the US and China.
more » ... This article is based on solid secondary data and information that has been collected from publically available academic literature and formal political discourse. This article is an evidence-based, critical interpretation of the intensifying power game between the US and China against the concept of leadership. The controversial Trump Administration in the US and the revisionist Xi Administration in China represent distinctively different leadership styles and these two administrations have hugely divergent visions and understandings of the global political economy. In this article, I conclude that: 1) the unilateral and isolationist behaviors of the US under the leadership of Donald Trump is jeopardizing its own hegemonic leadership and undermining the collective strength of the global West; 2) China remains in a defensive position and is reluctant to burden itself with resource-consuming external power game and 3) the almost incompatible strategic thinking and calculations of the Trump Administration and Xi Administration have largely contributed to the intensifying US-China competition despite the strong presence of internal demand for attention and resources.
doi:10.4236/ojps.2020.102017 fatcat:ug3ecx2dnzgs7nvwqtt3cirfai