CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

MAX HILAIRE

CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ

The Impact of the United States Decline on China’s Attitude Toward International Law

The current geopolitical situation makes it easier for China to maintain its current attitude toward international law and to be even less willing to accept traditional Western doctrines of international law. The United States has abdicated its global leadership role as a result of Trump’s “America First” policy. Trump’s nativist foreign policy agenda and his very narrow vision of international affairs have created space for China to assume a greater global and regional leadership role and to assert its worldview more forcefully. Xi Jinping echoed that sentiment in his speeches at Davos and the recent Chinese Communist Party Congress. 130 China now advocates for globalization, maintaining the liberal trading system, and supporting measures to reverse climate change and combat international terrorism. China’s current strategic thinking sees the United States as a declining hegemony that is unable to maintain its global commitments. This is in part attributed to the flaws in the U.S. domestic political system, the U.S. engagement in unwinnable wars, and the failure of successive administrations to adjust to the changing international environment that has been accelerated by the technological revolution and globalization. The United States has also seen its influence diminished by the emergence of new regional powers that are capable of resisting U.S. dominance in their regions. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drained the U.S. Treasury of critical resources that would have been better spent on domestic programs or important national security issues confronting the U.S. in the 21 st century. 131 China’s attitude toward international law did not change significantly with the election of Donald Trump. China certainly welcomed an American president who did not have a grasp of international affairs, and the gravitas to comprehend the complexity of international relations. Trump was also too preoccupied with his domestic troubles to focus on foreign policy. For Trump, foreign policy was a family business transaction; it is about what is in it for the Trump Organization. China was a net beneficiary of the chaos in the Trump administration. China wants the United States to continue to defend the international order, from which it has derived tremendous benefits, while simultaneously expecting the U.S. to accept it as a world power and a dominant power in the Asia-Pacific region. China welcomed the Trump administration for not making human rights a top foreign policy priority. Nor did it expect the Trump administration to seek to undermine China’s authoritarian system. Indeed, China welcomed Trump’s departure from the policies of his predecessors. However, China remained suspicious of U.S. efforts to contain its rise as a regional power in Asia and other parts of the world. China’s claim to complete sovereignty over the South China Sea has been a point of contention for the U.S. and its Asian allies. The U.S. does not recognize China’s sovereignty claims over the South China Sea and continues to have its warships navigate through the waters despite China’s opposition. The U.S. has pushed for a negotiated settlement of the South China Sea disputes between China and its neighbors, but China has resisted those efforts and insisted the South China Sea dispute is a territorial dispute, not subject to international negotiation. Trump did not make China’s claim to the South China Sea

130 Weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/full-text-of-xi-jinping-keynote-at-the –world-economic-forum. 131 CORDESMAN, A. Losing by “Winning”: America’s Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria , Center for Strategic & International Studies (2018), p. 1.

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