US-China Rivalry and Its Implications for the Post-PandemicWorld

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the tension and underscores the importance of cooperation between the United States and China on shared interests even as they compete ferociously on almost all fronts. While a duopoly with China and the United States working in tandem is unlikely because of their increasingly competitive relationship, a large-scale conflict shall be extremely costly as neither is strong enough to prevail. Under above background, this paper describes the grim nature of the current Sino-US relations and the expected trend of Sino-US rivalry in the post-pandemic era. We expect that both United States and China can mutually prevent deeper and larger conflicts from happening, as well as maintain rational economic and political interactions under an integrated and effective global governance mechanism. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.