Online Event: China's Power: Up for Debate 2020 - Debate 1

By: Bonnie S. Glaser

The China Power Project will host its fifth annual conference as a series of five live online debates. The first debate will take place on November 19 and will feature two experts debating the following proposition: The U.S.-China relationship can best be described as a “new Cold War.”

Over the last several years, relations between the United States and China have grown increasingly tense. Both the United States and China have expelled journalists and closed consulates amid heightened trade tensions and rancor about responsibility for COVID-19. Some experts believe Beijing is seeking to export its development model and that U.S.-China competition has spread to the ideological realm. Other experts disagree, arguing that the Chinese Communist Party is more focused on defending against threats to its rule at home.

Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), will argue that the U.S.-China relationship can best be described as a “new Cold War.” Melvyn Leffler, Edward Stettinius Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Virginia, will argue that the U.S.-China relationship cannot be described as a “new Cold War.”

Each debate features pre- and post-event polls. For more information and to cast your vote for or against a proposition, follow @ChinaPowerCSIS on Twitter.

This event is made possible by generous support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.