中美国际制度策略取向比较——基于议题领导权视角的分析

A Comparative Study of Chinese and U.S.Approaches to International Institutions--The Perspective of Issue Leadership

中美在国际制度领域的战略竞争加剧,但双方在该领域的策略取向却截然不同。对此,既有研究主要从权力、制度和地位三种视角进行探讨,权力竞争视角认为国际制度策略从属于权力分配和权力互动,制度竞争视角强调制度竞争和制度制衡的作用,地位竞争视角关注国家对国际地位的追求。本文主要基于议题领导权的视角,探讨中美国际制度策略取向背后的逻辑。随着世界朝着多元复合秩序演变,权力竞争的方式对于中美战略竞争的功效有所下降,两国在国际制度领域的竞争也逐渐显现。特朗普政府奉行单边主义,奥巴马和拜登政府则偏向排他性多边主义,其目的是借助国际制度制衡中国,维护美国的国际领导地位。中国坚持包容性多边主义,在维护自身发展权的同时也谋求提升国际领导权。当然,双方在国际制度领域并非零和竞争,议题的多元性和差异性使得中美双方的制度竞争没有权力竞争激烈。展望未来,议题领导权竞争将成为中美战略竞争的重要形式,中美双方能根据各自的比较优势,在不同领域加强议题领导权,最终形成中美各具优势、相互制约的局面。

Amid growing China-U.S.strategic competition,the contest for leadership in international institutions have also intensified.Beijing and Washington have taken differing approaches in this regard.Existing studies approach China-U.S.contest over leadership from three perspectives:power,institution,and status.From the perspective of power competition,leadership contest over institution building is subordinate to the contest over power distribution.The institutional competition perspective emphasizes the role of institutional competition and institutional balancing,while the status competition perspective focuses on the country’s pursuit of international status.There are still some deficiencies with those perspectives.Based on the perspective of issue leadership,this paper explores the logic behind the different strategies.In an emerging multiplex world,the power competition has become less effective,and there is more international institutional competition between the two countries.The Trump administration pursues unilateralism,while the Obama and Biden administrations prefer exclusive multilateralism.The purpose is to enmesh China in a intricate web of international institutions and maintain U.S.international leadership.China is committed to inclusive multilateralism and seeks to enhance international leadership while safeguarding its own right to development.However,the contest over leadership in institutions between the two countries is not zero-sum.The diversity and difference of issues make the competition less intense than the power competition.In the future,the issue leadership competition will become an important form of strategic competition.Beijing and Washington do not have to confront each other on all issues.Instead,they can strengthen the issue leadership in different issues according to their comparative advantages,and finally create a situation where China and the United States have their own advantages and balance against each other.