China, the United States, and Global Order

Abstract

The United States and China are the two most important states in the international system and are crucial to the evolution of global order. Both recognize each other as vital players in a range of issues of global significance, including the use of force, macroeconomic policy, nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, climate change and financial regulation. In this book, Rosemary Foot and Andrew Walter, both experts in the fields of international relations and the East Asian region, explore the relationship of the two countries to these global order issues since 1945. They ask whether the behaviour of each country is consistent with global order norms, and which domestic and international factors shape this behaviour. They investigate how the bilateral relationship of the United States and China influences the stances that each country takes. This is a sophisticated analysis that adroitly engages the historical, theoretical and policy literature.

China-IMF Collaboration: Toward the Leadership in Global Monetary Governance

“…The Chinese authorities stated that the RMB was found undervalued because of the IMF's incorrect assessment based upon an uncertain forecast of the future current account and its failure to take a broader view on the path of the real exchange rate (IMF 2011a: 19). Beijing rejected the IMF's 2007 Decision on Bilateral Surveillance and withdrew from the bilateral surveillance with the IMF between (IMF 2007Foot and Walter 2011). The IMF hereafter entered a historical-low relationship with China.…”

The Impact of International Perception on China’s Approach to Human Rights

“…Numerous scholars [10,20,24,25] have observed that China is indeed concerned about its international image in general. Foot and Walter, for example, state that generally speaking: BImage, and reasonably high levels of distributive fairness, as expressed in widespread signature of international treaties, can be persuasive when China debates whether to adhere to global norms^( [10], p. 162).…”

“…Foot and Walter, for example, state that generally speaking: BImage, and reasonably high levels of distributive fairness, as expressed in widespread signature of international treaties, can be persuasive when China debates whether to adhere to global norms^( [10], p. 162). Foot and Walter observe that China is concerned about the way that it is perceived globally on climate change ( [10], p. 227), though both China and the USA have resisted international calls for more international cooperation on climate change ( [10], p. 279). Larson and Shevchenko argue that the chances of the Chinese government playing an increased role in global governance are greater when the government feels that China's status will increase by doing so [24].…”

“…Regarding Chinese response to international pressure on what it deems as core interests, the Chinese government is more willing to work with or go along with international opinion on some issues than others. For example, on the topic of renminbi (RMB) appreciation, Foot and Walter argue that since 2005, Bexternal pressure, which the United States and other major countries ensured was linked to China's IMF obligations, played some role in the [Chinese] government's decision to permit RMB appreciation^( [10], p. 131). Moreover, with the Chinese restructuring their domestic economy according to WTO and international trade regime requirements, we see China acquiescing in sovereignty issues.…”

Second image revisited: The domestic sources of China’s foreign economic policies

“…Therefore, many observers have turned toward primarily descriptive studies of China's recent participation in global governance (for example, Kennedy and Cheng, 2011;Chan et al, 2012;Shambaugh, 2013), in bilateral relations with the United States (Foot and Walter, 2011) or with the European Union (EU) (Wouters et al, 2012). Still, this is also somewhat unsatisfactory, as nearly all observers agree that the issue is not about a major conflict in the next few years, but -if at all -in the next few decades.…”