A Chinese international relations expert has predicted that the U.S. government will focus its global strategy on the four areas of deepening industrial transformation, strengthening armaments, balancing geopolitical priorities and hotspots, and getting more engaged in cognitive warfare in 2024.
Wang Honggang, vice president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, made the prediction at a seminar on major global events recently held in Beijing.
Faced with increasing chaos at home and abroad, the U.S. government has more troubles and fewer resources to maneuver than in previous years, Wang said.
The U.S. may continue focus on its industrial transformation and global layout, he said, adding that the U.S. government will continue its industrial policy to stimulate the U.S. economy, which will be the top priority of the administration this year.
Besides, the U.S. will compete more fiercely with other countries. Wang said that in the future, the U.S. may take more aggressive action to make up for its industrial weakness, such as undermining the industrial security of other countries.
In the military sector, Wang predicted that the U.S. will continue strengthening arsenals. The Russian-Ukrainian and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts have exerted great pressure on the U.S. government, Wang said.
The U.S. will expand its military production capacity to assert itself, which may trigger a ripple effect in the international arena, he noted.
As for geopolitics, Wang pointed out that the U.S. will find a way to strike a balance between geopolitical priorities and geopolitical hotspots.
The strategy of the U.S. government in international economic policy is quite clear. “The U.S. would defeat its opponents even at the risk of hurting itself,” as Wang pointed out.
“For the U.S., Eurasia and the Middle East are geopolitical hotspots, but not its geopolitical priorities which always lie in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions," Wang said, raising an alarm over the possible U.S. moves in the region.
Cognitive warfare will be another strategy that the U.S. government clings to as its governing resources are reducing, Wang said.
Information manipulation, as the common tactic of the U.S., will be deployed to disrupt its opponent and shape public opinion in its favor, he said.
“For other countries, it will be a realistic problem to stay alert to U.S. cognitive warfare in the military, economy and more fields, and take countermeasures for self-defense.
The seminar, held by Xinhuanet annually, gathered together renowned scholars and experts in international relations to engage in vibrant and in-depth discussions on global issues.