The U.S. State Department is set to release a policy proposal for dealing with China’s rise as an authoritarian superpower and calling for a strong international coalition to work toward a revival of constitutional democracy, U.S. media outlets AXIOS revealed Tuesday.
The 70-page, unclassified document, titled “Elements of the China Challenge,” is similar to the famous “Long Cable from Kenan” that laid the groundwork for U.S. Cold War policy against the Soviet Union and focuses on the dangers and ideological roots of the Chinese Communist Party’s actions, the weaknesses China faces, and the strategies that the United States and its allies should use to address them. The paper argues that addressing China’s challenges requires the United States to return to its roots, including the need for sound policies that transcend bureaucratic battles and shortage election cycles, and that the overall goal of the United States should be to ensure freedom.
The document also lists “ten tasks” for the United States, including promoting constitutionalism and civil society; maintaining the world’s most powerful military; strengthening a rules-based international order; reassessing the system of alliances; strengthening alliances and creating new international organizations to promote democracy and human rights; cooperating with China where possible but constraining it where appropriate; informing the American people about China’s challenges; training a new generation of public servants who understand the challenges of competing with China as a great power; reforming the U.S. education system to help students understand the responsibilities of citizenship in a complex information age; and advocating the principle of freedom to practice what we preach.
In particular, the document states that the Trump administration “has concluded that the actions of the Chinese Communist Party and the goals it has set have compelled the United States and other countries to abandon illusions and develop new strategic policies to address the significant China challenge.
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