Challenging the status quo-revisionist power dichotomy: China and the United States in the trade regime

Kristen Hopewell

Review of International Political Economy, 2025, vol. 32, issue 4, 922-944

Abstract: There has been intense debate about whether China is a ‘status quo’ or ‘revisionist’ power in the international system. Since the first Trump administration, prompted by the American turn to aggressive unilateralism and assault on international institutions, many have questioned whether it is in fact the United States (US) that is the revisionist power. In this article, I argue that this debate rests on a false dichotomy that fails to recognise the changeable, multivalent and contested nature of international norms, rules and principles. The article draws on analysis of the trade regime, a key pillar of global order and a site where US-China conflict has been particularly destabilising. As I show, the US and China have each been able to present their conflicting positions as derived from established norms and principles, while portraying the other as a threat to the system. Existing debates about revisionist versus status-quo powers miss the fact that there are multiple, conflicting norms in existing governance regimes, and the rules of many regimes are contested and evolving, rather than fixed and static. Understanding the impact of contemporary power shifts on the liberal international order therefore requires a more nuanced and accurate understanding of how its constituent institutions actually operate.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2025.2493802

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