Kal Raustiala is the Promise Institute distinguished professor of comparative and international law at the UCLA Law School in Los Angeles, professor at the UCLA International Institute and director of the UCLA Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations. He is also a former Vice President of the American Society of International Law.

A photograph of Kal Raustiala.

Kal Raustiala

Richard Nixon visited China as the U.S. President in 1972 and those seven days, from February 21 to 28, came to be known as “the week that changed the world” and also the “ice-breaking trip” in the history of China-U.S. diplomacy. Kal Raustiala shares his views on how China and the U.S. should rethink the intention of that visit and seek out areas where they can combine forces to better manage the existing problems.

CNS: On the 40th anniversary of President Nixon’s visit to China, you said the visit “seized the moment, seized the hour, transformed history.” How do you see the historical significance of the visit at that time?

Kal Raustiala: Richard Nixon’s visit to China marked the strategic reengagement of the two great powers, which, with hindsight today, we can see as the two most important states in the international system. What made the summit between President Nixon and Chairman Mao Zedong so significant was that the People’s Republic of China had been shunned by the U.S. largely for ideological reasons, and Nixon was able to frame the reengagement in the U.S. strategic interest. He saw that China’s return to the center of world politics was inevitable, and managing that process made more sense than rejecting it.

CNS: Since then, China-U.S. economic and trade relations developed rapidly, so did cultural exchanges. What changes do you see in the bilateral relations in the five decades?

Kal Raustiala: The U.S.-China relationship five decades ago was largely about the geopolitical issues of security and shared antipathy toward the Soviet Union. Today, the U.S. and China are in a much more complex relationship, marked by aspects of competition and rivalry but also cooperation and interdependence. Clearly, the biggest change has been in the economic sphere, and today there are many thousands of Americans living in China and Chinese living in America. Our societies, not merely our governments, have a relationship.

CNS: Looking at the history of China-U.S. relations, what can the two countries learn from it? How should they understand this dynamic?

Kal Raustiala: A peaceful world order requires a close working relationship between the U.S. and China. Of course, the two nations have many differences, but certain issues—from the global economy to climate change—can be effectively addressed only by joint action. A key part of the history of the two nations is that the U.S. welcomed a rising China into the global order, and did not try to block its rise. Nixon’s landmark visit was the start of this process, and it continued through subsequent administrations, even as the U.S. sometimes feared China’s potential power and influence and vice versa.

CNS: In your book Global Governance in a World of Change published in 2021, you explored concerns about the lack of integration in global governance. What is the role of China and the U.S. in global governance?

Kal Raustiala: The existing global order strongly reflects American preferences from the early postwar era. While China was always a part of the United Nations, for instance, the fundamental design of the UN was American and China tended to be “quiet” on the Security Council. Today, China is rightly far more active and influential in what has long been a Western-dominated global order. China has strongly benefited from this order—which has brought peace and prosperity to much of the world—and the key going forward is for China to have a more active voice and role in that order while keeping that order’s best qualities intact. A more hostile and fearful world is in the interest of no one, especially the strongest powers.

CNS: Some scholars say that the key to mutual benefit is whether China and the U.S. can properly manage their important and complex relationship. How can the two countries get out of the current difficulties and rekindle their old friendship?

Kal Raustiala: That is a difficult question. The U.S. and China have some major areas of tension, ranging from issues of values and rights to concrete disagreements over, for example, the South China Sea. The important thing is that both sides see lawful action as essential, and ensure that these areas of tension are actively managed—not through threats but through diplomacy. There is too much to lose for both sides—and for the world—were conflict to arise. Even during the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union found ways to cooperate and ways to ease tensions. China and the U.S. have a very different relationship but it is still important to actively seek out areas where the two nations, working together, can combine forces to better manage existing problems.

(Interviewed by Gao Chuyi)