Implications for the United States: More competition and cooperation

China’s growing interest in international law and institutions should not be read as a sign of growing sympathy for the exercise of U.S. power. On the contrary, it is more accurate to view this development as evidence that China intends to compete more effectively with the United States in the “court” of international opinion and legal authority, even as it seeks to sustain stable and cooperative bilateral ties. In this sense, such behavior in the field of international law would complement its competition with the United States for influence in the domains of finance, trade and political influence, especially in Asia. At the same time, there remains considerable ground for China and the United States to sustain international cooperation.

Beijing is developing a competitive philosophy of international law to displace those elements of the international order that do not serve its purposes. China has put considerable energy behind the ideas and concepts related to the five principles of peaceful coexistence, which reverberate through many important diplomatic concepts, such as the "new Asian security concept," “new type great-power relations” and the “harmonious world.” The principles and derived concepts at bottom support the expansion of influence for the developing nations that experience a growing share of world GDP at the expense of the United States and those developed nations that are experiencing a decline in their respective shares of the global growth.

Chinese authorities appear intent on turning on its head the argument that China should “[adhere] to international norms and laws” by casting the United States and its allies as the irresponsible outliers to internationally accepted behavior. Reflecting themes commonly seen in PRC commentary, Foreign Minister Wang stated that the main obstacles to the promotion of international rule of law rested with countries that practiced “hegemonism, power politics, and all forms of ‘new interventionism’” which he said pose a “direct challenge” to “basic principles of international law.” He sharply criticized the “double-standard approach to international law” in which the same unnamed countries “use whatever suits their interests and abandons whatever does not.”

And yet, despite clear signs of growing competition, China retains with the United States powerful incentives to maintain high levels of cooperation. The economies of both countries dominate the world economy and remain deeply intertwined. Moreover, China remains a major beneficiary of the international order. China gains enormously from the trade and financial regimes defined by the World Trade Organization and related institutions, as well as the authority granted it within the United Nations and related bodies. Moreover, the expansion of economic and other interests into the far reaches of the globe and the proliferation of transnational threats drives China to seek greater cooperation with the United States and other nations. The agreement by President Obama and President Xi to cooperate at some level against ISIS is merely the latest symptom of this reality. As Foreign Minister Wang acknowledged, “The more China develops, the greater its needs to cooperate closely with other countries and the more it desires a peaceful and stable international environment.”

Whatever the legitimacy of China’s proposed principles, values and legal arguments, these will almost certainly appear with greater frequency and emphasis in coming years. China’s successful collaboration with Russia to push for a revision of norms and constrain U.S. authority in cyberspace should be seen as a harbinger of future Chinese-Russian collaboration. China will continue to scan the existing architecture of international norms and principles, upholding those that serve its purposes and seeking partners to revise or circumvent those that it finds counter to its interests. While this may always have been true in the past, the sheer amount of resources available to an increasingly powerful China carries considerably more consequences for the world today.

And yet, China’s growing appreciation of the utility of international law opens opportunities for the United States to develop policies that accommodate Chinese concerns, while upholding the integrity and stability of norms and principles favored by the majority of the world’s nations. To the extent that the United States and its allies demonstrate to China that existing norms, laws and institutions provide the best means of addressing its concerns, the United States can minimize the damage to its credibility and protect the overall stability of the international order. Balancing the demands to defend U.S. interests, maintain the integrity of the international system and respond to Chinese concerns will require considerable creativity, flexibility and courage on the part of U.S., Chinese and global policy makers to meet the challenge.

Timothy R. Heath is a Senior International Defense Research Analyst at the RAND Corporation.

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