ABSTRACT
This chapter moves the book to the dynamics of contemporary great power rivalry. It begins by discussing the increasingly prominent question of whether Sino-American relations resemble a new Cold War or not. While the relationship is not identical to US-Soviet rivalry, there are some comparable symptoms, and historical analogies can help recognise similarities and patterns and identify risks, dangers, and opportunities. This chapter discusses individual spaces of contestation, including systemic competition and how the global COVID-19 pandemic relates to this great Sino-US rivalry. Without overstating the Cold War analogy, the retrenchment of diplomacy, ideological and systemic competition, tit-for-tat measures in fields ranging from the tech sector to trade, and dramatic storytelling on both sides are cause for great concern in a new age of great power conflict.
