Command of commerce : America's enduring economic power advantage over China / Ben A. Vagle, Stephen G. Brooks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vagle, Ben A., author.

Brooks, Stephen G., 1971- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Balance of trade--United States.

Balance of trade.

Balance of trade--China.

China--Commerce.

China.

United States--Commerce.

United States.

Physical Description:

xiv, 275 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm

Other Title:

America's enduring economic power advantage over China

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"This book provides a systematic reevaluation of the balance of economic power between the U.S. and China. The conventional wisdom is that China's economic power is very close to America's and that Washington cannot undertake a broad economic cutoff of China without hurting itself as much or more. This book demonstrates the conventional wisdom is wrong on both fronts. In peacetime, America's lead in economic power over China is more dramatic than commonly appreciated because the vast majority of the firms that drive global commerce, particularly in high-technology sectors, are based in the U.S. and its allies. China's economic capacity has also been overestimated because Beijing manipulates its economic data and because comparing China's uniquely structured economy with other leading economies is challenging. These facts are necessary to understand why Washington has been able to target and undermine individual Chinese companies and even entire sectors in recent years while facing so little retaliation from Beijing. America's advantage in economic power over China would be even more marked in wartime. Our analysis indicates Washington could impose massive, disproportionate harm on Beijing if it were to impose a broad economic cutoff of China in cooperation with its allies or via a distant naval blockade. Across six scenarios, China's short-term economic losses from a broad cutoff range from being 5 to 11 times higher than America's. And in the long run, America and almost all its allies would return to previous economic growth levels; in contrast, China's growth would be permanently degraded"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Measuring the distribution of commercial capacity

The Potemkin superpower

China's economic weapons

Conceptualizing a wartime cutoff of China

Modeling a wartime economic cutoff of China

Foreign policy implications for America and China.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-267) and index.

ISBN:

019780229X

9780197802298

9780197802304

0197802303

OCLC:

1516783788

Publisher Number:

CIPO000226346