International Business Essay: China's Rise, US Conflict, and Trade

This essay provides a critical analysis of the ongoing conflict between China and the United States in the realm of international business. It examines the key drivers of this conflict, including China's rapid economic growth, its increasing influence on global trade patterns, and its challenges to the United States' dominance. The essay explores specific areas of contention, such as trade imbalances, the South China Sea dispute, and the competition in military might. It also assesses the potential consequences of this conflict on the global economy and international relations. The essay concludes by discussing potential approaches to mitigating the conflict, emphasizing the need for cooperation and the importance of adjusting foreign policies to ensure a sustainable global business environment. The student reflects on their strengths in the assignment, particularly their understanding of current events and critical analysis skills, and acknowledges weaknesses in identifying high-quality sources.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
International business
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Introduction
In the current global political scenario, one of the major issues being amplified is the
conflict between China and the United States. Even though there are no evidence of military
interference or physical casualties between the two countries, still this conflict is regarded as one
of the most influential in the recent time (Hoge 2015). The conflict between China and the
United States is also gaining the major global focus in the recent time due to its impact on the
larger trade pattern across the world. With time this issue is getting amplified and new elements
are being involved with one of the major reasons being the tremendous growth of China and
posing challenge to the dominance of the United States in the global politics (Mearsheimer
2014).
In this essay, the relationship between the rise of China in the global scenario with that of
the interest of the United States will be critically discussed along with considering the major
elements of conflict between the two countries. In addition, a reflection will also be stated about
the strengths and weaknesses being identified in doing this assignment.
Discussion
Prior to the discussion of conflict between the two countries, it is important to identify the
areas based which the conflict is emerging. One of the major areas of conflict is the economic
growth of China. According to Hsueh, Hu and Tu (2013), currently the rate of economic growth
of China is much higher than that of the United States. Thus, with the growth in the economy,
the economic viability of China is also increasing, which is posing the challenge to the monopoly
of the United States in being the superpower. In addition, it is also being stated by the authors
that the more will be the growth of the economy of China, the less they will be depended on the
United States. This will have impact on the trade policies between the two countries. Significant
economic growth of China is enabling them to have larger bargaining power in the trading
policies with the United States. This is leading to the emergence of conflict between the two
countries. Thus, it can be concluded that the further rise of China may led to larger issues with
the United States.
In this case, Strange et al. (2017) stated that growth of economy of China is also
increasing their influence on other countries. This is due to the reason that the more will be the

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growth of the economy, the more will be their financial ability to support other countries. Thus,
as per the authors, in the recent time the foreign aid of China went up significantly and huge
grants are being provided to the countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and some other
African countries. This phenomenon is also challenging the dominance of the United States due
to the fact that foreign aid provided by China is helping them to have more influence on these
countries and in the international bodies. For instance, for a good time, Pakistan was the strategic
partner of the United States in the South Asian region but in the recent time, they are less
dependent on the United States and are close to China. This is helping China in curbing the
global influence of the United States among the different countries. According to the authors, the
continuous growth of economy of China is helping them to provide the financial assistance to the
countries and posed as a competitor to the dominance of the United States.
Even though there is no instances of military warfare between the two countries but still
the aggression of both the countries in the South China Sea is also contributing in the conflict
between China and the United States. This is also one of the major areas of conflict between the
two countries. According to Hong (2013), South China Sea is one of the busiest routes of
transportation between the United States and the South East Asian countries. Thus, countries
with having the major stake in this route will have the upper hand in the global trade. In the
recent past, there was no issues emerged with this region but with the growing influence of
China, they have now challenged the dominance of the United States. This is further getting
amplified by the economic superiority of China in the region and the demand of China of South
China Sea as their territory (Hamashita 2013). The authors have also stated that this issue will
get further amplified with the growing economic significance of China due to the reason that
stable growth of the economy is helping them to develop their infrastructure and pose threat to
the United States. In this case also, it can be concluded that rise of China will further escalate the
conflict between the two countries (Khong 2014).
Trade war is at the highest peak in the recent time between the two countries and with
each one is adamant at their point, there is no evidence of the things slowing down. According to
Handley and Limao (2017), it is a well know fact that trade war is escalating between the two
countries. Thus, with the rise of China, it is posing as the trade challenger for the United States in
the global business scenario. One of the major examples is the shift of the global business giants

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with their manufacturing facilities from the western economies to China. This is enhancing the
bargaining power of China with the western countries including the United States. It is also being
identified that the rise of China in terms of the business economy is increasing the trade deficit of
the United States. This is due to the reason that as of now, the United States are having trade
deficit of US$ 375 billion with China and this shows the challenge thrown by China. Thus, it can
be concluded that rise of China will further escalate the trade deficit and will led to emergence of
larger trade war between the two countries.
The last area of conflict between the two countries is the possession of military might.
This is due to the fact that defense industry is one of major streams of revenue for the United
States with having the largest defense manufacturers in the country. However, according to
Bellais (2013), in the recent time, the investment and growth of the Chinese defense industry is
huge with having an extensive policy of research and development. This is due to the reason that
United States and Russia are the two major defense exporting countries in the world and rise of
China in this sector will help them to increase their foreign reserves. It is also reported that
innovative and latest military hardware such as fifth generation fighter aircrafts are already being
introduced by China. This is not only strengthening the defense system of China but also
providing them the option of selling them to the countries earns foreign reserves. According to
the authors, this is also posing challenges for the United States in terms of retaining the market
for their defense industry. This is also escalating the conflict between the two countries. In this
case also, it can be concluded that rise of China is affecting the interest of the United States and
contributing in the emergence of the conflict between the two countries.
Thus, in the previous section, the major reasons for the emergence of conflict are being
identified and it is important to determine the ways to overcome this conflict. According to
Brooks and Wohlforth (2016), irrespective of the recent growth of China, it is not possible for
them to overtake the United States. This is due to the reason that export industry of China is
highly depended on the domestic market trend of the United States. Thus the viability of the
domestic industry of China is also being determined the market potentiality of the United States.
Thus, according to the authors there is no need of escalation of the trade war between the two
countries; rather the cooperation will help both the countries in having sustainable development.
This is due to the reason that competitiveness of the United States and potentiality of China will

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help to have sustainability in the global business trends and patterns. On the other hand, it is
stated by Flores-Macias and Kreps (2013) that rises of China may have impact on the foreign
policies of the United States but it will not affect their interests. This is due to the reason that in
the current era of globalization, protectionism will not work and will in turn affect the market of
the United States only (Stiglitz 2014). Thus, as per the authors, it is better for both the countries
to enhance their competitiveness rather than escalating conflict between the two.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that it is not inevitable that China’s rise will lead to the conflict
with the United States. This is due to the reason that development of China will only increase the
competition in the global scenario and it may pose the challenge to the global dominance of the
United States. In this essay, there are number of areas being identified, which are contributing in
the emergence of conflict between the two countries. It is identified that majority of the issues
are mainly based on the challenges being posed by China to the dominance of the United States.
In addition, in this report, it is also being identified that issues and conflict between the two
countries can be effectively mitigated with the adjustments in their respective foreign policies.
This will ensure that rise of China will not be inevitable any more in generating conflict with the
United States.

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Reference
Bellais, R., 2013. Technology and the defense industry: real threats, bad habits, or new (market)
opportunities?. Journal of Innovation Economics & Management, (2), pp.59-78.
Brooks, S.G. and Wohlforth, W.C., 2016. The Once and Future Superpower: Why China Won't
Overtake the United States. Foreign Aff., 95, p.91.
Flores-Macías, G.A. and Kreps, S.E., 2013. The foreign policy consequences of trade: China’s
commercial relations with Africa and Latin America, 1992–2006. The Journal of Politics, 75(2),
pp.357-371.
Hamashita, T., 2013. China, East Asia and the global economy: Regional and historical
perspectives. Routledge.
Handley, K. and Limão, N., 2017. Policy uncertainty, trade, and welfare: Theory and evidence
for china and the united states. American Economic Review, 107(9), pp.2731-83.
Hoge Jr, J.F., 2015. A global power shift in the making. In Paradoxes of Power (pp. 62-68).
Routledge.
Hong, Z., 2013. The South China sea dispute and China-ASEAN relations. Asian Affairs, 44(1),
pp.27-43.
Hsueh, S.J., Hu, Y.H. and Tu, C.H., 2013. Economic growth and financial development in Asian
countries: a bootstrap panel Granger causality analysis. Economic Modelling, 32, pp.294-301.
Khong, Y.F., 2014. Primacy or World Order? The United States and China's Rise—A Review
Essay. International Security, 38(3), pp.153-175.
Mearsheimer, J.J., 2014. Can China rise peacefully?. The National Interest, 25, pp.23-37.
Stiglitz, J.E., 2014. On the wrong side of globalization. The New York Times, 15.
Strange, A.M., Dreher, A., Fuchs, A., Parks, B. and Tierney, M.J., 2017. Tracking underreported
financial flows: China’s development finance and the aid–conflict nexus revisited. Journal of
Conflict Resolution, 61(5), pp.935-963.

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Reflection
One of the major strengths identified by me in doing this assignment is the having the
idea about the current trend of the global trade war between the United States and China. This
helped me in adding more specific information in the content. In addition, this I also identified
that my skill of critical analysis have also helped in using the views of different authors in doing
this assignment. However, on the other hand, it is also identified by me that one of my major
weaknesses is lack of knowledge in identifying the quality journals and articles. This is creating
challenge for me in having the access to the authentic data for this assignment. However, I will
initiate some measures to overcome this weakness. I will use more external resources and online
courses about learning how to use quality data and information for critical analysis. In addition,
from the following assignments, I will also initiate the time management process effectively in
order to allocate more time in reviewing the data, analyzing them and putting them in the final
content. This will also help me in ensuring the quality of the assignment and securing better
marks.