Dalvoy Logo
Dalvoy
UPSC MainsGeneral Studies Paper IInternational RelationsPractice question

China as a Strategic Challenge to the US

Why is China a major challenge to the USA now?

Why~250 words2 min readmedium
Attempt it first, timed · optional

Write the answer on paper, as in the exam. Start the timer, keep to the word target.

00:00/ 11 min · 250 words

Done writing? Photograph the sheet and see how it scores against this model answer, with feedback on what to fix.

Upload your answer sheet

How to approach

Introduce the US-China dynamic through systemic rivalry and structural power shifts. Analyse the challenge across economic, technological, strategic, and institutional dimensions. Conclude with the necessity of diplomatic guardrails and selective de-risking to prevent outright conflict.

Model answer

262 words

Introduction

China's emergence as a systemic rival poses an unprecedented challenge to the US-led rules-based international order. This structural rivalry mirrors a classic Thucydides Trap dynamic, driven by simultaneous competition across economic hegemony, technological supremacy, and strategic influence.

1. Economic & Technological Competition

  • Economic Scale: With a projected nominal GDP exceeding $20 trillion, China represents the only peer competitor capable of directly challenging American global economic dominance.
  • Technological Rivalry: Supported by industrial initiatives such as 'Made in China 2025', Beijing has accelerated its pursuit of leadership in frontier technologies including artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors, and electric vehicles (EVs), prompting retaliatory US tariff measures and export restrictions.
  • Supply Chain Weaponization: China commands nearly 70% of global critical mineral refining capacity. Export restrictions on critical raw materials such as gallium, antimony, and rare earth elements directly expose vulnerabilities in US domestic industrial and defence manufacturing.

2. Strategic & Military Expansion

  • Maritime Assertiveness: Rapid naval modernization and militarization in the South China Sea actively contest US Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) and heighten security risks across the Taiwan Strait.
  • Alternative Institutional Order: Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and institutions such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the New Development Bank (NDB), Beijing provides an alternative economic and diplomatic architecture, diminishing the sway of Western Bretton Woods institutions across the Global South.

Conclusion

To avert an escalatory zero-sum confrontation, bilateral relations require institutional guardrails and predictable communication channels. A strategy of selective de-risking—bolstering domestic industrial resilience and strengthening Indo-Pacific deterrence platforms like the QUAD and AUKUS—must run parallel with strategic dialogue on shared global challenges.

Key facts to remember

definition
Thucydides Trap

A political science concept describing the natural structural friction and heightened probability of conflict that occurs when an emerging power rises to challenge an established hegemon.

statistic

China controls approximately 70% of global critical mineral refining capacity, granting it significant geopolitical leverage over modern industrial supply chains.

— International Energy Agency

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between 'decoupling' and 'de-risking' in US-China relations?

Decoupling aims at a complete economic and supply-chain separation from China, whereas de-risking focuses narrowly on safeguarding critical sectors such as advanced tech and strategic raw materials while preserving standard trade.

← All questions on this topic (24)