US-China relations: be thankful war between the superpowers is limited to board games – for now

The deep chasm in US-China relations is playing out in the halls of the US Congress, where bipartisan efforts across a range of committees are targeting China

A recent tabletop war game exercise on Taiwan shows the optics on US-China relations look bad as global challenges continue to mount

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James Borton

James Borton is a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University's Foreign Policy Institute.

Published: 1:00am, 29 Apr 2023Updated: 2:31am, 29 Apr 2023

The United States and China have been on a collision course over the contested South China Sea for some time. However, the critical challenges are no longer over the horizon but are now being framed in the US Congress.

Bipartisan committees and lawmakers are demanding hearings, recommending sanctions and engaging in war games to express deep concerns over trade, technology development and Taiwan.

The deep chasm in US-China relations is playing out among many policymakers and in Congress, where the Republican-controlled House of Representatives’ steps to curb China’s rising economic influence were first witnessed with the passage of House Resolution 11 that formed a select committee on competition between the US and China’s Communist Party.

Across the political spectrum, this body provides legislative recommendations on US-China economic competitive issues. Their primary interests include restoring supply chains and ending economic dependence on China, supporting Taiwan, publicising ongoing Chinese interference and influence campaigns, identifying infiltration attempts directed at US academic institutions and exposing operations of China’s security services.