The US Studies Centre in conjunction with the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney hosted a roundtable discussion with Brantly Womack, Professor of Foreign Affairs at the University of Virgina and Miller Center C K Yen Chair, on the topic of Beyond Hegemony: China-US Rivalry in a Multinodal World.

About the event

With approximately equal masses of productivity and one-third of the world’s total, the relationship of the United States and China will remain the focus of global politics for the foreseeable future. However, neither the US nor China—nor the two together—can exercise the kind of hegemonic control that existed in earlier bipolar and unipolar eras. The diffuse interdependence created by globalisation gives every state broader alternatives and raises the cost of hostility. Cold War camps are unlikely to form. Despite seeming parity, the US and China do not face each other as hegemon and challenger, but rather as the largest players in a world that neither controls. Moreover, each faces the world with different strengths and challenges. As the primary nodes of a world order that they cannot dominate, the United States and China are likely to restrain their rivalry. If not, they will isolate themselves.