Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Though some African liberals and Western countries criticize China’s approach to Africa, the continent also could present an opportunity for Washington and Beijing to cooperate. The United States and China have many overlapping interests in Africa, including preventing failed states, assuring a steady supply of oil and gas, and fighting disease.
This book examines the strategic balance in Asia and the increasing levels of trade and interdependence in the region, assessing the implications for the United States.
Asian states have, for now, concluded that U.S. hegemony is robust and can provide the public goods that no other Asian country is yet willing to provide. Asian states have high expectations of peace in the future, and are committed to the use of political means to resolve disagreements.
China has quietly reoriented its foreign policy to emerge as a new advocate of soft power. It's all part of an international charm offensive that could threaten U.S. interests abroad, but could also – if properly exploited by other nations – transform the Asian giant into a more responsible member of the world community.
In a short period of time, China has become a major donor and investor in Africa, and it has begun to play a major role in domestic African politics. In fact, China has so quickly amassed power in Africa that it now rivals the United States, France, and international financial institutions for influence - and potentially damages Africa's economic and political renaissance.
In four key regions—East Asia, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and Latin America—a combination of factors has created a new, fluid alliance that could potentially oppose the U.S. and other democracies. In all four regions, countries that have flirted with democracy since 1989 have begun to turn their backs on it. And, in all four regions, authoritarian regimes have a new weapon: oil.