Heterogeneity and Trade Dispute Comparing U.S.-Japan Trade Friction and U.S.-China Trade and Technological Rivalry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71113/JCSIS.v2i3.180Keywords:
U.S.-Japan trade friction, Sino-U.S. trade war, heterogeneity, trade friction, Rising power, Industry competitionAbstract
This study conducts a comparative analysis of two major trade conflicts-the U.S.-Japan trade friction of the 1980s and the current U.S.-China trade war- to explore the critical role of heterogeneity in shaping these conflicts. The study posits that heterogeneity cannot be assimilated or eliminated because countries, as countries like China and Japan inherently develop models different from that of the United States. Moreover, heterogeneity is closely related to state power; when power levels between states converge, heterogeneity is often seen as a potential threat.However, this study also points out that similarities in political institutions and ideologies can help mitigate the scope and intensity of conflicts. In the case of the U.S.-Japan dispute, most of the conflict has been contained between the two countries through targeted bilateral negotiations and industry-specific agreements. In contrast, the -China economic game poses a more far-reaching challenge to the existing international order. While China's economic rise has followed certain similar path to Japan's, its unique political system and ideological differences have made the impact of this conflict more pronounced.
Downloads
References
[1]Blackwill, R. D., & Tellis, A. J. (2015). Revising U.S. grand strategy toward China. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/report/revising-us-grand-strategy-toward-china
[2]Bown, C. P. (2021). The US–China trade war and phase one agreement. Journal of Policy Modeling, 43(4), 805-843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2021.02.009
[3]Bradford, A. (2023). Digital empires: The global battle to regulate technology. Oxford University Press.
[4]Campbell, K. M., & Sullivan, J. (2019). Competition without catastrophe. Foreign Affairs. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/competition-with-china-catastrophe-sullivan-campbell
[5]Christensen, T. J. (2021). There will not be a New Cold War. Foreign Affairs. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-03-24/there-will-not-be-new-cold-war
[6]Cusumano, M. A. (1991). Japan's software factories: a challenge to US management. Oxford University Press.
[7]Deyo, F. C. (2018). The political economy of the new Asian industrialism. Cornell University Press.
[8]Diebold, W., Okimoto, D. I., Sugano, T., & Weinstein, F. B. (1984). Competitive edge: The semiconductor industry in the U.S. and Japan. Foreign Affairs, 63(1), 189. https://doi.org/10.2307/20042107
[9]Diebold, W., & Tyson, L. D. (1993). Who's bashing whom? Trade conflict in high-technology industries. Foreign Affairs, 72(2), 168. https://doi.org/10.2307/20045551
[10]Dohlman, P. A. (1993). The US-Japan semiconductor trade arrangement: Political economy, game theory, and welfare analyses. UMI Press.
[11]Drezner, D. W., Farrell, H., & Newman, A. L. (2021). The uses and abuses of weaponized interdependence. Brookings Institution Press.
[12]Feenstra, R. C. (1984). Voluntary Export Restraint in U.S. Autos, 1980-81: Quality, Employment, and Welfare Effects. The structure and Evolution of Recent U.S. Trade Policy (pp. 35-66). University of Chicago Press.
[13]Foot, R., & King, A. (2019). Assessing the deterioration in China–U.S. relations: U.S. governmental perspectives on the economic-security nexus. China International Strategy Review, 1(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42533-019-00005-y
[14]Friedberg, A. L. (2005). The future of U.S.-China relations: Is conflict inevitable? International Security, 30(2), 7-45. https://doi.org/10.1162/016228805775124589
[15]Friedberg, A. L. (2018). Competing with China. Survival, 60(3), 7-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/00396338.2018.1470755
[16]Gilpin, R. (1989). Where does Japan fit in? Journal of International Studies, 18(3), 329-346.http://doi.org/ 10.1177/03058298890180030301
[17]Griffiths, J. (2020). Trump has repeatedly blamed China for a virus that now threatens his health. This will make Beijing nervous. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/02/asia/trump-china-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html
[18]Ikenberry, G. J. (2008). The rise of China and the Future of the West-Can the liberal system survive. Foreign Affairs, 87(1), 23-27. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20020265
[19]Kanz, J. (1994). Strategy evolution and structural consequences in the US semiconductor industry. Technovation, 14(4), 221-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-4972(94)90008-6
[20]Kaplan, R. D. (2019). A New Cold War has begun. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/01/07/a-new-cold-war-has-begun/
[21]Kissinger, H. (2012). On China. Penguin Press.
[22]Kubo, F. (2019). Reading the Trump administration’s China policy. Asia-Pacific Review, 26(1), 58-76. https://doi.org/10.1080/13439006.2019.1633153
[23]Lehner, U. C., & Murry, A. (1990, July 2). Will the U.S. Find the Resolve to Meet the Japanese Challenge? Wall Street Journal.
[24]Lincoln, E. J. (2000). Japan: A continuing dilemma for open trade ideals. The Brookings Institution.
[25]Matsushita, M. (1990). The Structural Impediments Initiative: An Example of Bilateral Trade Negotiation. Michigan Journal of International Law, 12(2), 436-449. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1311472042
[26]McCourt, D. M. (2022). Knowledge communities in US foreign policy making: The American China Field and the end of engagement with the PRC. Security Studies, 31(4), 593-633. https://doi.org/10.1080/09636412.2022.2133629
[27]McFaul, M. (2020). Cold war lessons and fallacies for US-China relations today. The Washington Quarterly, 43(4), 7-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/0163660x.2020.1850406
[28]Miller, C. (2022). Chip war: The fight for the world's most critical technology. Simon & Schuster.
[29]Morris, N. (2013). Japan-bashing: Anti-Japanism since the 1980s. Routledge.
[30]Noyce, R. N., & Wolff, A. Wm. (1986). HIGH-TECH TRADE IN THE 1980s: The International Challenge and the U.S. Response. Issues in Science and Technology, 2(3), 61–71. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43308987
[31]Oyane, S. (2002). U.S.-Japan-Korea Semiconductor Friction: The Political Economy of Trade Negotiations. Yushindo press.
Japanese
[32]Pepinsky, T., & Weiss, J. C. (2021). The clash of systems? Washington Should Avoid Ideological Competition With Beijing. Foreign Affairs. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-06-11/clash-systems
[33]Pollack, A. (1995). Japan Buys More U.S. Auto Parts. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/14/business/international-business-japan-buys-more-us-auto-parts.html
[34]Pottinger, M., & Gallagher, M. (2024). No substitute for victory. Foreign Affairs. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/no-substitute-victory-pottinger-gallagher
[35]Prestowitz, C. V. (1989). Trading places: How we are giving our future to Japan & how to reclaim it. Basic Book Inc.
[36]Puckett, A. L., & Reynolds, W. L. (1996). Rules, sanctions and enforcement under section 301: At odds with the WTO? American Journal of International Law, 90(4), 675-689. https://doi.org/10.2307/2203997
[37]Rappeport, A. (2019). Trump Calls China a ‘Threat to the World’ as Trade Talks Approach. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/us/politics/trump-china-theat-to-world.html
[38]Savary, J., Crandall, R. W., & Flamm, K. (1990). Changing the rules: Technological change, international competition, and regulation in communications. The Canadian Journal of Economics, 23(1), 245. https://doi.org/10.2307/135531
[39]Schell, O., & Shirk, S. L. (2019). Course correction: Toward an effective and sustainable China policy. Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations.
[40]Semiconductor Industry Association. (1983). The effect of government targeting on world semiconductor competition: A case history of Japanese industrial strategy and its costs for America. SIA.
[41]Semiconductor Industry Association. (2021). SIA Comments to USTR on Section 301 Tariff Exclusions. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.semiconductors.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/SIA-Section-301-Product-Exclusions-Reinstatement-Request-FINAL-12011.pdf
[42]Singleton, C. J. (1992). Auto Industry Jobs in the 1980's: a decade if transition. Monthly Labor Review, 115(2). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A12063049/AONE?u=anon~5554aee5&sid=googleScholar&xid=691c1a6a
[43]Vogel, E. F. (1986, March 1). Pax Nipponica? Foreign Affairs. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/asia/1986-03-01/pax-nipponica
[44]Weiss, J. C., & Wallace, J. L. (2021). Domestic politics, China's rise, and the future of the liberal international order. International Organization, 75(2), 635-664. https://doi.org/10.1017/s002081832000048x
[45]The White House. (2017). National Security Strategy of the United States of America. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf
[46]The White House. (2021). Interim National Security Strategic Guidance. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NSC-1v2.pdf
[47]The White House. (2022). FACT SHEET: President Biden signs executive order to implement the CHIPS and science Act of 2022. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/25/fact-sheet-president-biden-signs-executive-order-to-implement-the-chips-and-science-act-of-2022/
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fang Zhou

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.