Government & International Relations Seminar Series:

The US technology War on China: Australia’s predicament and policy choices

Presenter: James Laurenceson (UTS)

RD Watt Seminar room (A04, 203)

The Trump administration was explicit in its goal of maintaining US primacy and keeping China subordinate in its own region. In policy terms, the Biden administration has gone much further to deliver on that goal and there is now widespread agreement, even among US analysts, that Washington’s strategy for maintaining US primacy includes containing China’s economic rise. Further containment policies can be expected. This is profoundly problematic for Australia. Even leaving aside the direct, negative economic implications of slower growth in Australia’s major trading partner and higher import costs, it is a strategy that encourages escalatory dynamics, carries a high risk of failure and requires setting aside fundamental tenets of Australian foreign policy, such as supporting a rules-based order. Forging a distinct and broadly common position with like-minded partners in East Asia offers potential to deal with the challenge.

Image by Maksym Yemelyanov on AdobeStock