Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2021
Using detailed information on policy interventions by US sub-national governments between 2009 and 2019, the contribution of such public bodies to Sino-US geopolitical rivalry is examined, in particular since President Trump took office in 2017. While US sub-national governments accounted for 28% of all US policy interventions that harmed Chinese commercial interests, awarding firm-specific subsidies in 88% of cases, the timing and sectoral incidence of such intervention suggests that economic statecraft considerations could only be part of the explanation for their actions. Ironically, the interventions of US sub-national governments and their weak commitment to transparency have much in common with their frequently maligned Chinese counterparts.
Professor of International Trade and Economic Development, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Founder of the Global Trade Alert initiative. I thank participants at a conference titled Great Power Competition in the 21st Century: Linking Economics and Security, held at Berkeley on 24 October 2019 for comments on a powerpoint presentation that became the basis of this paper. I also thank the reflections of two anonymous referees, James Davis, and Jonathan Fried. Comments on this paper are welcome and can be sent to the author at [email protected].