If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, as Irish poet Oscar Wilde once claimed, then American policymakers should take China’s steady steps toward becoming an international sanctions power as quite the compliment.
Hit increasingly hard by Washington’s sanctions tool as relations with the Trump administration unraveled, Beijing has learned from its scars. Little noticed by pundits and the press, China has quietly moved past its historic distaste for restrictive measures and begun building a sanctions toolkit that mirrors Washington’s.
The result is a country that’s more willing and able to weaponize its economy for foreign policy wins and to deter external aggression against its companies. As a result, Beijing will increasingly provide a counterbalance to Washington’s sanctions supremacy and emerge as a rival stand setter in global commerce during the Biden administration and beyond.