Put simply, then, China won the battle by choosing not to fight it. But this isn’t quite the whole story. In addition to avoiding the grave costs of the war, China capitalized by offering developing countries an attractive alternative to the United States: ideologically-blind economic engagement. And, as a result, Beijing was able to expand its “soft power” at the expense of an increasingly unpopular Washington.
Filed under: Iraq Tagged: Asia, Beijing, China, developing countries, diplomacy, economic diplomacy, Fatih Birol, Foreign Affairs, foreign relations, Iraq, Iraq War, military, Politics, U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, United States, violence, Washington
