The world order is at risk of a lasting split, with the United States and its allies on one side and China and its partners on the other.
As U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen noted at an Atlantic Council event last month, this outcome is far from desirable, and the U.S. must work with China to prevent it. But, practically in her next breath, Yellen advocated actions that could thwart such an effort.
In Yellen’s view, the U.S. should be deepening ties with countries that have “strong adherence to a set of norms and values about how to operate in the global economy and about how to run the global economic system.” In her view, picking partners that are “committed to a set of core values and principles” is the key to effective cooperation on important issues.