PRC vs. USA Roundtable

On November 20, the Department of International Relations and the Walker School of Business and Technology co-organized a round-table to discuss the economic and military rivalries between China and the United States, which have been escalating in the most recent years.

Captain James Fanell, U.S. Navy (ret.), provided a military perspective highlighting how China’s historical dream to become a maritime power has become reality, showing evidence that operational capabilities continuously improved and the number of naval shipyards surpassed that of the United States.

From an economic perspective, Dominique Jolly, Professor of Business Strategy, contributed to the discussion with staggering evidence of the exponential growth in production. Since the mid-1990s, the Chinese economy has been unstoppable.

What future for a world in which China will take the lead as major economic and military power?

International Relations Professors Oreste Foppiani and Lionel Fatton, warned to distinguish intention from facts and not to draw quick assumptions from Chinese growing figures. They also highlighted that a determining factor of tomorrow’s global power will be its ability to master technology more than its economic or military capacity.

Fatton also underlined that in judging the Chinese development of a naval force and a strong economy we have to try to look objectively at the facts, disposing of western-centric positions.

During the Q&A session that followed the panel, an interesting point of concern was raised trying to predict China’s next moves; will the PRC attempt to impose its socio-political model to the rest of the world?

Georges Haour, IMD Emeritus Professor of Technology & Innovation Management, moderated the round-table.

Text by Martina Castiglioni