USA AND CHINA: CONFRONTATION OF ECONOMIC GIANTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

When writing this article, it is noted that in the 21st century, the world economy is increasingly shaped by the confrontation and competition between the two largest economies in the world - the United States of America and the People's Republic of China. Both countries play a key role in the global market, investment, technology and international trade, and their economic confrontation has far-reaching consequences for both the regional and global economies. This rivalry encompasses not only trade wars and tariff policies, but also the competition for leadership in the fields of artificial intelligence, green technologies, finance and geopolitical influence. On the one hand, the United States, as a long-term leader of the world economy with a highly developed market system; on the other, China, which demonstrates dynamic growth and is gradually transforming from the "factory of the world" into a technological and investment player of the global level. The purpose of the study is to analyze key aspects of the economic confrontation between the USA and China, identify the main factors of their competition, as well as assess potential scenarios for the development of the situation in the coming decades. The study attempts to assess the prospects for the further development of relations between the USA and China – from strategic rivalry to possible economic coexistence. The results of the analysis can be useful for understanding modern geoeconomic processes and making management decisions in the field of foreign economic policy. The following research methods were used in writing the article: 1) analytical method (to assess China's acquisition of leading positions in the world); 2) statistical method (to study the development indicators of China and the USA); 3) historical method (to study the retrospective and worldview prerequisites of China's current behavior); 4) comparative method (to conduct a comparative analysis of the differences between the political systems of China and the USA); 5) geopolitical analysis (used to establish the content of China's geopolitical ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region). In further scientific research, it is proposed to focus on deepening the analysis of the structure of exports and imports, sanctions policy, trade wars, as well as the study of technological competition in the fields of AI, microchips, telecommunications, "green" technologies, etc.).