Author: Yuhan Zhang, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Lin Shi, Columbia University

Paul Kennedy was probably right: the US will go the way of all great powers — down. The individual dramas of the past decade — the September 2001 terrorist attacks, prolonged wars in the Middle East and the financial crisis — have delivered the world a message: US primacy is in decline.

This does not necessarily mean that the US is in systemic decline, but it encompasses a trend that appears to be negative and perhaps alarming. Although the US still possesses incomparable military prowess and its economy remains the world’s largest, the once seemingly indomitable chasm that separated America from anyone else is narrowing. Read more…

Author: Yuhan Zhang, Carnegie Endowment

Climate change has become the most difficult collective action problem our world has ever faced. It cannot be resolved by a single country taking unilateral action. Together, the US and China are responsible for more than 40 per cent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Their emissions have had dire impacts on the global climate. As the world’s two largest emitters, the US and China should take robust action.

First, policymakers and interest groups in both countries must completely abandon the non-cooperation strategy. Read more…