Renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs warns that Washington’s “China threat” narrative, rooted in Cold War thinking, risks escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies. He notes that U.S. policies aimed at restricting China have inadvertently accelerated Chinese innovation, exemplified by AI startups like DeepSeek. Sachs urges the U.S. to replace confrontation with cooperation, recognizing mutual benefits in China’s rise.
BRICS bridge- Jeffrey Sachs, a renowned US economist and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, has issued a stern warning against the prevailing “China threat” narrative in Washington. During an interview at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025, Sachs argued that this perspective, rooted in a Cold War – era mentality, could lead to a self – fulfilling prophecy of conflict between the world’s two largest economies. He pointed out that the Trump administration’s tariff impositions on Chinese goods were deliberate attempts to harm China’s economy, stemming from a long – held US foreign policy view of China as an adversary.
The economic repercussions of such US policies have been significant, with the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow model projecting a 1.8% contraction in US economic growth for the first quarter of 2025. Sachs emphasized that the US market is no longer as strategically crucial for Chinese exports as it once was, reducing Washington’s leverage over Beijing. Despite US efforts to constrain China’s technological advancement, China’s innovation ecosystem has instead been catalyzed, exemplified by the emergence of AI startups like DeepSeek, which challenges the notion of US technological dominance.
Looking ahead, Sachs stressed that the US should recognize the mutual benefits of China’s rise rather than pursuing dominance. He highlighted that emerging and developing economies will continue to grow faster, leading to a more multipolar world where technological benefits are more evenly shared. This perspective calls for a shift in US policy approach, moving away from confrontation and towards equal consultation to address shared concerns.
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