THE DANGERS OF A CATASTROPHIC CONFLICT BETWEEN THE US AND XI JINPING'S CHINA
A war between China and the US would be catastrophic, deadly, and destructive. Unfortunately, it is no longer unthinkable.
The relationship between the US and China, the world's two superpowers, is
peculiarly volatile. It rests on a seismic fault of cultural misunderstanding,
historical grievance, and ideological incompatibility. No other nations are so
quick to offend and be offended. Their militaries play a dangerous game of
chicken, corporations steal intellectual property, intelligence satellites peer
and AI technicians plot. The capacity for either country to cross a fatal line
grows daily.
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has studied, lived in, and
worked with China for more than forty years, is one of the very few people who
can offer real insight into the mindsets of the leadership whose judgement will
determine if a war will be fought. The Avoidable War demystifies the actions of
both sides, explaining and translating them for the benefit of the other.
Geopolitical disaster is still avoidable, but only if these two giants can find
a way to coexist without betraying their core interests through what Rudd calls
“managed strategic competition”. Should they fail, down that path lies the
possibility of a war that could rewrite the future of both countries, and
the world.
“A lifelong student of China, Kevin Rudd has become one of today's most thoughtful analysts of China's development. The Avoidable War focuses on the signal challenge posed by China's evolution to America and to world order. Can the US and China avoid sleepwalking into a conflict? Rudd offers constructive steps for the two powers to stabilize their relations.” HENRY A. KISSINGER
About the Author:
Kevin Rudd served as Australia's twenty-sixth prime minister from 2007 to
2010 and then as its foreign minister from 2010 to 2012, before returning as
prime minister in 2013. He is the global president and CEO of Asia Society and
has been president of the Asia Society Policy Institute since January
2015. Rudd graduated from the Australian National University with honours in
Chinese studies and is fluent in Mandarin. He also studied at the National
Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.
