Yetiv's Opinion Piece on U.S.-China Relations Appears in Christian Science Monitor

If China and the United States are to maintain cooperation, both need to manage China's rise effectively. The oil arena is an important place to start.

Steve Yetiv, political science professor at Old Dominion University, comments on the importance of Washington, D.C., and Beijing developing better confidence-building measures in an opinion piece that appeared in the Christian Science Monitor Thursday, June 17.

"Relations depend largely on how Washington and Beijing read and manage China's rising status and oil interests," said Yetiv, citing the dramatic increase in China's demand for oil. Estimates place China's reliance on oil from the Persian Gulf at one-third of its output by 2025.

Yetiv asserts that China's desire to protect its interests in the Gulf will lead it to strengthen its military presence in that region.

"As China becomes more dependent on Gulf oil, it will be more inclined to ensure that Washington does not totally control this oil jugular," notes Yetiv.

Some suggestions for how to preserve relations?

"They can start by pursuing more joint projects on energy, such as their current project on electric cars," writes Yetiv. "Washington should also consider bringing China into a Gulf security framework at a high enough level to build Beijing's confidence but not so high as to give a potentially aggressive China too much leverage."

Click here to read the full article.

Yetiv's research explores American foreign policy toward the Middle East, global energy, interdependence, and theories of decision-making, foreign policy and international relations.

His recent book, "The Absence of Grand Strategy: The United States and the Persian Gulf (1972-2005)," analyzes the evolution of U.S. foreign policy in the Persian Gulf, offering a "provocative and panoramic view of American strategies in a region critical to the functioning of the entire global economy," according to The Johns Hopkins University Press.