Harvard Professor: US-China Tensions Will Have 'Lose-Lose' Ending

An official with the Reagan and Clinton administrations said Tuesday the United States' spat with China likely will end badly for both parties.

"The endgame will probably be lose-lose," Harvard professor Graham Allison said on CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia."

"I think this will be worsening across the board and I hope that they don't do any permanent damage."

Allison was an adviser to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger during the presidency of Ronald Reagan and the assistant secretary of defense for policy and plans under President Bill Clinton.

Tensions between the U.S. and China have increased during the Trump administration around trade and military matters. They have worsened this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, which began in Wuhan, China, and has spread to nearly every corner of the Earth.

With U.S. and Chinese Naval ships sailing in contested areas of the South China Sea, a confrontation could occur over the next 18 months, the Council on Foreign Relations concluded.

"The risk of a military confrontation in the South China Sea involving the United States and China could rise significantly in the next eighteen months, particularly if their relationship continues to deteriorate as a result of ongoing trade frictions and recriminations over the novel coronavirus pandemic," the organization wrote.

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