Wang Gungwu warns on US-China credibility clash
SCMP · 1 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
Historian Wang Gungwu says the US-China confrontation now bears important similarities to the Cold War, especially because both countries possess nuclear weapons and therefore have strong incentives to avoid direct military conflict. In an interview, he said American strategists have long debated how to manage China’s rise and that Xi Jinping’s political thinking is tied to a conviction that the Communist Party is essential to China’s survival.
Key Points
- Wang Gungwu, 95, is an internationally recognised historian of China and the Chinese diaspora, now at the National University of Singapore and emeritus professor at the Australian National University.
- He previously served as vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1995, giving his views particular resonance in Hong Kong academic and policy circles.
- Wang said US-China rivalry resembles the US-Soviet Cold War at one level because both sides have nuclear weapons, making direct war unlikely but proxy conflict possible.
- He said some US strategists favour using methods similar to those deployed against the Soviet Union to undermine China’s power without fighting directly.
- According to Wang, US policy debates included the view that bringing China into the World Trade Organization could foster a capitalist economy and a large middle class.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, Wang’s remarks frame US-China tensions not as a short-term dispute but as a prolonged strategic contest that could shape trade, diplomacy and academic exchange around the city. His emphasis on credibility, deterrence and party rule also helps explain why compromise between Washington and Beijing remains difficult even when both seek to avoid war.