Contain China? He will say no! Article | Quincy Institute of Governance Strategies in the United States | China
The website of the Quincy Institute for Governance in the United States published an article titled "Mr. X Will Not Agree to contain China" on July 3, authored by Daniel Larison. The article excerpt is as follows:
On July 3rd, an article titled "Mr. X Will Not Agree to contain China" was published on the website of the Quincy Institute for Governance Strategies in the United States.
Today, the United States has found that its conflict with China is escalating and seems to be about to collide. Washington repeatedly denies seeking to contain Beijing, but actions speak louder than words. Through export controls, increased military spending, and increased military bases, the United States aims to weaken China's economic strength and trap it within a "wall", even if it risks a major power conflict.
This is a dangerous and unnecessary policy. The United States has previously pursued militarized methods of containment, which have resulted in disasters for millions of people around the world. Even George Kennan, the father of anti Soviet containment policies, regretted supporting this approach. In the latter half of his life, Kennan was a staunch critic of the Cold War hardliners, condemning the competition between traditional and nuclear weapons. He often warns of the dangers of militarism and nuclear war, fearing that superpowers are making big mistakes and repeating the foolish march of 1914.
If Kennan can see today's increasingly fierce competition between the United States and China, he will certainly be shocked that our country has once again embarked on the policy of armed confrontation, which is the same as the dead end policy many years ago.
Kennan's views are not always correct or consistent, but he has excellent insight. He realized the futility of the Vietnam War, but the government and foreign policy institutions at that time were still fixated on fighting. He foresaw that the Iraq war would be catastrophic and publicly expressed opposition. He knows that NATO's expansion will anger Russia and there is no need to create instability and new divisions in Europe
On March 25, 2003, dozens of US armored vehicles drove from Kuwait City to the border between Kuwait and Iraq.
If Kennan could see the situation in 2023, he would undoubtedly feel discouraged by the military competition between the United States and the increasingly powerful China. During the Cold War, he issued warnings about the danger of a new major war, and he also issued warnings about Washington's reckless provocation of major power conflicts in the past few years.
I think Kennan will definitely oppose the policy of containing China because it is a dangerous and overly stretched strategy. As Frank Costiella, a professor of history at the University of Connecticut, reminds us, after the Cold War, "Kennan hoped that the United States would abandon its efforts to manage informal empires. He believed that such efforts were not only destined to fail, but would also distract attention and resources, making it impossible for the United States to solve more urgent domestic problems.".
Today, compared to when Kennan was alive, the United States has made more commitments to the outside world, its energy has become more dispersed, and domestic issues have become more urgent. Kennan would not support a policy that would increase the burden on the United States, leave our government idle for decades, and harm national welfare, and we should not support such a policy either.
