Recent years have seen intensifying US coalition-building efforts among partners and allies to address common concerns about the People’s Republic of China. This has moved beyond classic military balancing in Asia to focus on the economic, technological and ideological dimensions of competition and rivalry with China, in the process bringing a different cluster of states ‒ particularly in Europe ‒ to the fore in US China strategy. The PRC has also been rebalancing its own approach to partners and quasi-allies, moving beyond its traditional non-alignment to deepen ties with states that can offer advantages to China in its contest with the United States. This development is exemplified by the Sino-Russian joint statement of February 2022 and recent shifts to China’s global military basing plans. The talk will explore how the new form of ‘systemic rivalry’ came about, and how the war in Ukraine is affecting its trajectory, offering a preview of the speaker’s forthcoming book on the subject.

Andrew Small is a senior transatlantic fellow with GMF’s Asia Program, which he established in 2006. His research focuses on US–China relations, Europe–China relations, Chinese policy in South Asia, and broader developments in China’s foreign and economic policy.