Globalization and the liberal international order threatened by the U.S.–China rivalry

The “Open Door Policy” implemented by Chinese authorities from the late 1970s paved the way to globalization. With its large and cheap workforce, China attracted foreign manufacturers and specialized in the production and export of labor-intensive goods. This evolution led to a deindustrialization process in the United States and a high degree of interdependence between developed and developing economies. The recurrent financial crises in Western countries and the rapid ascent of Chinese firms in global value chains have transformed China into a super competitor of the United States. Considering that its growing power was insufficiently embedded in the U.S.-led liberal international order, China has managed to free ride on World Trade Organization rules, challenged the multilateral financial architecture, and privileged Sino-centered strategies, such as the Belt and Road Initiative. Since the 2010s, the U.S.–China rivalry has spread from the economic to diplomatic and security spheres. These tensions stem primarily from the competition over hegemony in the Indo-Pacific and advanced technology. The lack of trust between the two superpowers will inevitably involve a shift to a post-globalized world. For example, the Western dependence on China over strategic products and commodities will have to be phased out.