In collaboration with the University of Alberta’s China Institute and the Grandview Institution, ICAS is proud to co-host an upcoming roundtable event on how middle powers view contemporary U.S.-China relations. As the United States and China find themselves caught in a great power struggle, the rest of the world is left watching. Middle power countries–such as Australia, Canada, India, Japan, and South Korea–now find themselves embroiled in the toxic struggle between the U.S. and China for global prominence and power. These countries have been left to wage their own diplomatic battles as they try to balance decades–or even centuries–of historic relations with economic priorities, security initiatives, and their own national values; all while aiming to maintain global stability and foster their own national growth. While many of these countries find themselves in similar situations as a ‘middle power’ country, they also inevitably hold their own unique needs and desires–for both the state of U.S.-China relations and for the global stage as a whole–that cannot be ignored.

While it is important to understand China and America’s global visions from their respective perspectives, it is also important to assess this bilateral relationship from the perspectives of other global actors. In the globalized world that we live in today, third party countries, especially these middle power countries, are important partners for both China and the U.S. to engage and manage global challenges. The middle powers are essentially the “middle-class” members of the global society that uphold the status quo and stabilize the international system. Thus, hearing from the middle powers can provide fresh perspectives on the inevitable realities of the U.S.-China relationship. It also helps provide a bystander’s perspective for policymakers in Washington and Beijing to search for ‘guardrails’ in their increasingly competitive relationship.

This event will bring together scholars representing five aforementioned middle power countries to present and discuss their countries’ perspectives on the increasingly competitive U.S.-China relationship to ultimately build a better understanding of middle power countries’ unique and important perceptions of–and role within–the U.S.-China relationship.