Professor warns of ‘cool’ war with China
National Post
By Jen Gerson | 06/11/13 11:49 PM ET
After years studying Islamic thought and the Middle East — and helping to form the then-nascent Iraqi government — Harvard law professor Noah Feldman realized he had made a mistake — he had spent too little time examining the real power rising, China. Despite their deep economic interdependence, China and the U.S. are going to be increasingly at odds, he suggests. In advance of his appearance at the National Post-sponsored Teatro Speakers’ Series Thursday, he discusses his new book, Cool War, the Future of Global Competition with the Post’s Jen Gerson. This is an edited version of their conversation.
Q. There seems to be a growing unease with China’s strength, but also a skepticism it’s a threat for precisely the economic reasons your book points out. Is that misguided?
A. My argument is China is both a cooperative economic power and a highly competitive geopolitical power. In another example, Japan is rearming itself for the first time since the Second World War while negotiating a free-trade agreement with China and South Korea. You may ask how that would happen, but in the current world conditions, countries can be profoundly economically cooperative and deeply geopolitically at odds.
Q. Do you think the economic situation, and potential nuclear capacities of China and the U.S. have forced a shift toward technological and economic and/or trade warfare?
A. Each country has the power to destroy the other — both in terms of nuclear weapons or economically, which is probably equally important as a deterrent. Weapons systems are constantly evolving — China is seeking develop a multi-headed ballistic missile system that could get around any missile shield the U.S could build. So the nature of this kind of old-fashioned military mutual deterrence is ongoing. I would also point out these two countries are already are fighting a cyber war.
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