U.S. Has Blundered Into Geopolitical Contest With China: Kishore Mahbubani

NEW DELHI: Without a comprehensive long-term strategy, it’s unwise for the United States to have launched a major geopolitical contest against China, says noted academic and former diplomat Kishore Mahbubani. Speaking to StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale, Mahbubani, who is Distinguished Fellow, Asia Research Institute, The National University of Singapore, says China, which is experiencing the most resurgent phase in its history, is a far more formidable competitor that the U.S. has ever had. Invoking George Keenan, former American diplomat and key Cold War strategist, Mahbubani says the U.S. isn’t following any of Keenan’s key pieces of advice, such as ‘cultivate friends and allies’ and ‘be humble’. Mahbubani, who is of Indian origin, feels the country can do remarkably well in the long run if it opens up its economy the way China did. Indians are among the post competitive peoples in the world; give them any environment and they will do well, he says.