Joseph Nye: soft power can benefit both China and the US

CCG 全球化智库CCG 2024-03-24

On April 28th, Professor Joseph Nye’s new book, Soft Power and Great-Power Competition: Shifting Sands in the Balance of Power between the United States and China, published by Springer Nature and CITIC Press, was released at CCG. The book is another heavyweight work in the "China and Globalization" series edited by CCG During the event, Professor Joseph Nye expressed the following views:

Well, thank you very much. First, I want to start by thanking Wang Huiyao and people at Springer and CITIC for the wonderful job they've done in preparing this book. And I'm grateful to the opportunity to able to enable my ideas to reach many people, both in Chinese and in English. So I'll start with that expression of gratitude.

In terms of the topic of the book, and the situation in the world today, I’ve quite worried about the conditions of US-China relations. I'm afraid that, as I said, it's a cooperative rivalry, but there's too much emphasis on the rivalry and not enough on the cooperation. And that’s where the point about soft power comes in, which is, soft power is the ability to get what you want through attraction, rather than coercion or payment. And soft power can be something which can benefit both China and the US at the same time. There can be obviously a competitive dimension of soft power, but there is also a positive joint gain dimension. Some years ago, Wang Jisi of Peking University and I, who authored an article on US and Chinese soft power, in which we pointed out that if the US becomes more attractive in the eyes of China, and China becomes more attractive in the eyes of the US, it's going to make it better able to cooperate. And the need for cooperation is truly great.

Not only do we have, as mentioned earlier, a great deal of economic interdependence between our countries, from which both countries benefit, but there is, in addition to that, ecological interdependence in which we cannot escape the effects that each other are having on things such as the global climate or pandemics. Take the question of climate change. This can do enormous damage to both of our countries. If, for example, climate change continues on the path that it's now on, you will see situations where we may not be able to meet the “1.5℃” goal, which was agreed upon the United Nations and 2015 in Paris. And we may not even make the goal of “2℃”. In that case, what you're going to see is accelerated melting of Arctic, Antarctic ice caps. With that, sea-level rises that will have a strong impact on for example, American coastal cities, or low line states like Florida or Louisiana. So the costs of dealing with this are quite high, and the interest the United States has in trying to slow climate change is very strong. But the same is true for China. China has a dependence upon waters that come from the Himalayas, in terms of rivers, which they were to dry up, would be devastating. But also, if you look at Western China, and similarly in the Western United States, there's the danger of droughts, which will greatly affect agriculture production. And you will see a situation where China suffers greatly. Now, the reason that's important or interesting is that the United States and China, the two of us together, put about 40% of the world's carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. So it does no good, for example, for China to cut down on its carbon dioxide production if the US doesn't do so. And it doesn't do any good for the US to cut down on its carbon dioxide production if China doesn't do so. So, there is a strong case for cooperation here, because if we don't cooperate, we're each going to be hurt.

A similar case can be brought and made for cooperation in global health. Pandemics, such as we've just suffered in both countries, in the form of Covid do not respect national boundaries, and yet they can kill millions of people. In that sense, being able to cooperate in the early detection and the scientific understanding of cooperation in dealing with pandemics is very important. And there I would argue that cooperation has been diminishing. If we go back to the early 2000s with the SARS, there was a great deal of cooperation between the US and China. When we look at the Covid example, the cooperation has been minimal and decreasing. That's bad for the US and China. So, in that sense, as we look at the prospects that the two countries face, we have a strong interest in cooperation. As we heard, ecological cooperation or ecological interdependence have no boundaries, and therefore they have strong incentives cooperation. Unfortunately, cooperation is limited behind the intensity of the great power competition, and that means it's very difficult for us to accomplish what we need to accomplish. Another way of thinking about that is if we don't find a way to increase our cooperation, we both will suffer. And that's where soft power comes in. If we have a situation where China is unattractive in the US, and American politicians demonize China, and the US is unattractive in China, and China demonize the United States, then we essentially remove the soft power that allows us to improve our cooperation. That is the cost for both of us.

So, in that sense, what the book is about of soft power and great power competition, and there will be great power competition. But it has to be seen in this broader perspective of world, which has become much more interdependent. We cannot have a new Cold War, because these two countries cannot afford, either in economic interdependence or ecological interdependence, to pay the costs that would be involved in such a Cold War, not to mention the political and military dangers that accompany it. So that's an argument for seeing what we can do to increase soft power of China in the US and the US in China. Unfortunately, right now, the trends are running in the wrong direction. I hope, perhaps with the publication of these essays, which may clear the importance of soft power, even in an age of great power competition, that we yet broader understanding of what are the tasks that we face, and how we can go back about accomplishing that. So, thank you to all for making it possible to bring these thoughts to a broad audience and to sit in and to Springer. And I hope that maybe the book will have some positive influence on developing that type of cooperation which I referred to.

Note: The above text is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. It is posted as a reference for the discussion.

CCG Books

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This book aims to help readers make sense of our changing world by sharing the views of global thought leaders on some of the most important issues of our time, from US-China relations and global governance to climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ten dialogues in this book were part of the “China and the World” series of online discussions hosted by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG). The series features CCG President Huiyao Wang in conversation with experts from a range of fields, from renowned scholars of international relations, economics, and history, to journalists, policymakers, and business leaders.

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This book focuses on globalization and China’s evolving role in the world, offering unique perspectives on a number of developments during a tumultuous period that began with Donald Trump’s election and ended with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. This period saw the global landscape reshaped by China’s continued rise, intensifying great power competition, and a public health crisis that has changed how we live.

The essays center on three interconnected themes – China’s remarkable development under its policy of Reform and Opening-up, China’s deepening integration into the global economy and rise in an increasingly multipolar world, as well as the quest to revitalize global governance and multilateralism to address the pressing global challenges of the 21st century.

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China and the World in a Changing Context-Perspectives from Ambassadors to China is the latest volume in CCG’s “China and Globalization” series, which seeks to create a balanced global perspective by gathering the views of highly influential scholars, practitioners, and opinion leaders from around the world on issues of policy and governance.

Ambassadors are a kind of vehicle and bellwether for globalization. These diplomatic envoys serve as pivotal contact points between nations across a wide range of fields, from economics and culture, to health and the environment. The special group of ambassadors in this book – all based in Beijing – are at the forefront of what, for many countries, is one of their most important bilateral relationships and the platform for one of the most striking and consequential developments in global affairs in the 21st century: the rise of China on the world stage.

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The 22 entries in this book include contributions from the heads of Beijing-based chambers of commerce representing the EU, the US, France, Switzerland and Brazil and others, CEOs and senior executives of MNCs like Airbus, Royal DSM, Michelin, LinkedIn and Herbalife as well as representatives of global consulting firms like KPMG, PwC, Accenture and Roland Berger.

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This book brings together leading international scholars and policy-makers to explore the challenges and dilemmas of globalization and governance in an era increasingly defined by economic crises, widespread populism, retreating internationalism, and a looming cold war between the United States and China. It provides the diversity of views on those widely concerned topics such as global governance, climate change, global health, migration, S&T revolution, financial market, and sustainable development.

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An excellent guide for understanding the trends, challenges and opportunities facing China through globalization, this Handbook answers the pertinent questions regarding the globalization process and China’s influence on the world.

With contributions from leading experts and international researchers, each chapter covers key topics regarding China’s participation in globalization, including: China’s new role in global economic governance; outward direct investment; China’s soft power and the implications for foreign relations; global migration, diaspora and talent. An enriching range of case studies and extensive empirical research are used to explore the successes and failures of globalization in China, and to discuss the dilemmas facing decision makers in today’s globalized world. A major contribution to the field, this Handbook offers valuable insights to China’s often misunderstood globalization process.

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● Authors: Wang Huiyao, President and Miao Lu, Vice President, Center for China and Globalization(CCG), Beijing, China

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