Policy Briefs and Reports Books Journals

Peace and Security in Northeast Asia Policy Brief  No.226

Policy Brief No.226: Trust but Talk: How to Manage China–US Strategic Competition

Zhou Bo

July 02, 2025

Image: Dragon Claws/shutterstock.com

This policy brief examines how China and the United States can manage their co-existence through ‘copetition’—a combination of cooperation and competition—rather than just competition or rivalry. The author begins by pointing out that co-existence is more difficult to manage now between China and the US than it was between the USSR and US during the Cold War. Then he proceeds to propose measures that can make the co-existence manageable or ‘mutually assured’. Sixteen measures are proposed including the key measure of permanent contact and dialogue on many levels.