Video Brief: China

China’s rising global role, increasing assertiveness and upcoming leadership transition may pose significant challenges for the next U.S. president, says Elizabeth C. Economy, CFR’s C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and Director for Asia Studies. "China is increasingly shaping the world in which we live," Economy says. As a result, U.S.-China relations will no longer be focused exclusively on trade, Taiwan, and human rights. The next president will have to work with China on "virtually every global challenge," she says, including Iran, North Korea, global financial regulation, and climate change.

U.S. officials will have to take account of China’s newly assertive posture, regionally and globally, she says. "China’s leaders no longer simply want to export their goods and services; they want to export their culture, their values, and ideals," Economy says. "And the next president of the United States is going to have to think about how to deal with not an emerging power, but a global power."

This video is part of Campaign 2012, a series of video briefings on the top foreign policy issues debated in the run-up to the 2012 elections.