Research On The Competition Of China-US International Institutions

As one of the most important bilateral relations in the strategic relations of great powers,the change of Sino-US relations has become an important factor affecting the change of international order.In the 21 st century,especially since 2008,Sino-US relations have undergone profound changes in strength contrast and the nature of bilateral relations.On the one hand,the gap between China and the United States in comprehensive strength has gradually narrowed,and this change is particularly evident in the world economy;On the other hand,the competitiveness of Sino-US bilateral relations is increasingly prominent.However,with the relative decline of the importance of power,force and military alliance in the current world politics and the behavior of great powers,the "rule world" seeking rule-making and partnership competition is becoming the core content of world politics.Under this background,the competition between China and the United States also presents a new characteristic which is different from the competition of the great powers in the past,that is,to replace the competition for world hegemony with the international system as the object and the field becomes the core content of the strategic competition between the two countries.Therefore,this paper attempts to explore why China and the United States should start fierce competition around the international system,the path logic and mode choice of competition between the two countries,and the possible changes in the future international order.The first part is based on the basic assumptions about the behavior of great powers and world politics and the basic elements of the original real institutionalism,the author constructs a new analytical framework to understand the competition of the international system,which contains four variables: institutional attributes,institutional competition logic,institutional checks and balances,and institutional competition results.The second part,based on the history of Sino-US relations since 1949,combs the historical process of Sino-US interaction around the international system,it is divided into four stages:system suspension period,system trial period,system competition period and system competition period and this paper briefly discusses the attitude of China and the United States towards the international system,the competition situation and the future competition trend in different periods.In order to better understand the background of the competition between China and the United States around the international system,and to lay an empirical foundation for the following interpretation of the competition between China and the United States by using the new analytical framework.The third part,based on the four analytical variables in the new analysis framework proposed by the author,interprets the competition of the international system between China and the United States and holds that the contradiction and tension between the publicity and self-interest of the international system is the motive mechanism to trigger the competition of the Sino-US international system.The publicity of the international system can urge China and the United States to provide a certain number of public goods for the international community from the common interests of the international community.The self-interest of the international system means that it can be used by China and the United States as a tool to maximize its own interests,and the competition for the formulation,construction and creation of international rules,international mechanisms and international institutions is the path logic of the competition between China and the United States.Rules competition,mechanism competition and institutional competition are three different forms of competition between the two countries.They help China and the United States to lay a competitive foundation,expand their competitive advantage and establish a competitive position,while inclusive institutional checks and balances and exclusive institutional checks and balances are the ways to compete in the international system between China and the United States.The former helps to expand their own partnership,while the latter weakens the competitiveness of their competitors.As a hegemonic country in the system,the United States is more inclined to adopt the strategy of exclusive institutional checks and balances for the strategic consideration of its own hegemony protection.As a rising country in the international system,in order to minimize the system pressure on its own rise,China is more inclined to adopt the strategy of inclusive system checks and balances,and the compatibility and mutual exclusion of international order is the result of the competition between China and the United States.The result depends on what China and the United States put the public and private interests of the international system at the top of their external strategic objectives.In other words,the degree of compatibility between the public and private objectives of Sino-US international system competition will largely determine the outcome trend of the competition between the two sides.If both China and the United States put public goals at the top of their foreign strategies,that is,the degree of compatibility between the two will be high,then the two-led system will show a compatible situation and contribute to the peaceful changes of the international order.If both China and the United States put self-interest goals first,that is,low compatibility,the two-led system will be mutually exclusive and lead to "fragmentation ".The fourth part takes the international system competition between China and the United States about the free trade zone as a case,and deeply analyzes the reasons,paths,ways and results of the competition around the free trade zone,which provides a practical demonstration for testing the explanatory power of the new analytical framework based on the theory of real institutionalism.In general,the systematic analysis of Sino-US international system competition from the new analysis framework is not only helpful to obtain a comprehensive and systematic understanding and cognition of the situation,development and future trend of Sino-US international system competition,but also to provide guidance for China’s practical activities in the field of current and future international system,and to provide a comprehensive analytical perspective for understanding future rule-based world politics.