Session: Plenary Session II
Date/Time: April 24, 2018 / 14:45-16:15

Moderator:
Chung Jae-Ho, Seoul National University

Speakers:
Dino Patti Djalal, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia
Aaron L. Friedberg, Princeton University
François Godement, European Council on Foreign Relations
Hugh White, Australian National University
Paul Wolfowitz, American Enterprise Institute

Panel Description
As China’s rise continues to reshape global politics, the possibility and likelihood for confrontation with the United States increases. In the South China Sea, China’s creation of artificial islands and U.S. “freedom of navigation” operations increase the risk of miscalculation and conflict. In Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Chinese economic influence is growing at the same time the U.S. is pulling back intentionally or otherwise. In the military and cyber realms, Chinese advancements are rapidly catching up with American capabilities, creating mutual mistrust and precipitating an arms race. Although U.S.-China economic relations remain inextricably intertwined, the Trump administration has called for tougher measures against unfair Chinese trade practices with China reciprocating. Can the U.S. and China turn “strategic competition” into “strategic cooperation?” Is conflict between the world’s two great superpowers inevitable or can they avoid falling into the “Thucydides Trap”?