Clash of Titans: US-China Conflict in Global Trade

The spectacular growth of China since the 1990s, now the leading trading state in the world, has transformed the global political economy. Many hoped its rise could be integrated into the US-dominated international order. China saw these rules as favoring the west, however, a view shared by many emerging powers in the global South. Today, both countries increasingly contest the norms, rules and practices that govern international trade in pursuit of their perceived national interests. Moves to decouple global supply chains, and calls for friend-shoring, are mounting.

What explains this growing clash? How will the US-China rivalry affect patterns of trade, investment and capital flows in the world? And what are its repercussions for promoting global development and confronting climate change?

The leading political economist Kristen Hopewell examines these developments in conversation with Sanjay Ruparelia