Problems of economic and humanitarian cooperation between the PRC and the US

• Published in: Vostočnaâ Aziâ: fakty i analitika no. 2; pp. 20 - 36
• Main Author: Kiryushina A.I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia (ICCA RAS) 01.06.2024
• Subjects: b. obama; d. trump; economic cooperation; humanitarian cooperation; j. biden; prc; xi jinping
• ISSN: 2686-7702
• DOI: 10.24412/2686-7702-2024-2-20-36

The article analyzes problems in China-US relations in the spheres of economic and humanitarian cooperation. Major trends of their bilateral interaction in these areas are examined as concrete manifestations of the countries’ opposing strategic goals. The author traces the relationship between the political strategies of Beijing and Washington that determine their actions toward each other, including the “two policy clusters” or ”packages” as major paradigms governing the PRC's foreign policy course on the American track. The article provides a comparative analysis of China-US trade turnover, the volume of mutual export and import and their sci-tech component, as well as the volume of mutual direct investment in recent years, taking into account the impact of the “trade war” and COVID-19 pandemic. The article analyzes reasons for decline in the role of the two countries’ “soft power” in humanitarian cooperation and observes the dynamics of China-US academic exchanges and tourist flows intensity, weakening of bilateral interaction in the field of cinema and shrinking of Confucius Institutes operating in the US. It is concluded that despite the stagnation of bilateral ties in economic and humanitarian areas, China and the US are still linked by a network of complex interdependence in various aspects of their economies and societies, which will determine their bilateral interaction stability in those areas where cooperation is most beneficial.