China, the United States, and the Future of a Rules-based International Order
With China being widely perceived as thegreatest challenge to the current rules-based international order, a centralpart of this
Brookings paper is to better understand the elements ofChina’s challenge. China has decried the “so-called ‘rules-based’ internationalorder” as not truly representative of “universal values”. In Beijing’s view,“the overwhelming majority of countries in the world would not recognize … thatthe rules made by a small number of people would serve as the basis for theinternational order.” Paul Gewirtz regardsthe contents of his paper as a starting point for experts outside of thegovernment of China and the U.S. to begin clarifying disagreements between theUnited States and China about an “international order” based on “rules” and thepossibilities of bridging them, as a preface for future negotiations. PresidentXi’s most recent global initiative, the 2023
Global Civilization Initiative calls for “respectfor the diversity of civilizations,” insisting that states “refrain fromimposing their own values or models on others.” These principles indicateresistance to the current universal human rights regime that binds statesregardless of their diversified cultures.
https://www.brookings.edu
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