China Is A Player At The Table

As every day passes China grows stronger in every aspect and eventually they will be knocking on America’s doorstep in each of those categories. Economically, China is closing rapidly, but even the sleeping giant as Napoleon Bonaparte called it, has its limits. To be blunt, China is resource hungry and who knows what their country will do next. With the level of nationalism that their people have, China could go in multiple directions. For example, let us look at both China attempting to exert control over the South China Sea and also with the Senkaku Islands. Both of these areas are becoming more and more hostile, which ultimately could lead to deadly military engagements. With that being said, Blij also proposes an argument that I have been pondering for a while and that is a potential cold war between the U.S.A. and China. On the outside it seems as if there is a potential collision course to that conclusion. However, Blij does offer an interesting solution to this possibility and it is one that I believe should be the strongest takeaway. Blij suggests that trade, scientific, cultural and educational links and exchanges can be the solution to this issue. After all, China is responsible for many of the essential aspects to our life. Therefore, the least we as Americans can do is learn the various geographical aspects that encircle

Realism is one of the most dominant international relations theories in the academic world. But within Realism, Realists are split on a number of issues. A perfect example of which being the rise of China. Over the past 30 years China has increased not only in population and power, but has also achieved one of the strongest economies in the world. The rise of China is seen as problematic by many realists. Since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, the US has enjoyed a position of hegemony in the unipolar power structure of the world. Many fear that the rise of China could upset the current balance of power. One such individual is a prominent realist scholar, John Mearsheimer. He believes that war with China is inevitable and “calls for the US to do whatever it can to slow China’s rise.” Another political theorist Jonathan Kirshner wrote this paper to counter many of Mearsheimer’s claims, stating that Mearsheimer’s offensive realism “is wrong, and dangerous”. Kirshner suggests that instead of using offensive realism we should look instead to the theories roots in classical realism to analyse the rise of China.

Well, according to constructionists, how a state acts is dependent upon its ideas, beliefs, and values. Based off of this it is safe to assume that the US and China will not both respond the same to the current political climate. With a good example of this cultural split being Roger Cohen's "Dog Days of China", which shows how even with the continuing homogenizing of the world there are still significant differences in cultures; especially between the East and West. So based off of this, if the US were to pursue cooperation, it wouldn't be illogical for China to pursue competition or vice versa. As well, going off the topic of the culture determining how a state acts, it's important to note one important part of China's culture; the century of humiliation. This century of humiliation, stirred by the two Opium Wars, in which has China suffered at the hands of the west, has been a defining motif for China's recent rise to power. Which is why they leave the ruins of Yuanmingyuan, the old imperial palaces destroyed by the West in the Second Opium War, as a constant reminder. Thus possibly being an indicator how China may see their rise at the cost of the US' fall as just retribution for past transgressions. As well, in constructionist thought international relations is also determined by the structure of interactions. And the current structure is that of a single polarity world brought about by the demise of another super power after a long period of staunch tension. So China's rise could be a precursor to this structure reproducing itself. With China becoming powerful enough to rival the US, resulting in a new Cold War type period starting, then after a time leaving only a single superpower left standing. Because of this and the fact that constructionist view states that actors are irrational, it may seem that even for a constructivist, China's rise cannot be seen as

During the “duck and cover” era of the cold war when people in the US worried about Russian mushroom clouds and an ensuing tank invasion of Europe, we know that the two true ‘hot wars’ of the cold war both took place in Asia, the war in Korea and the war in Vietnam. While both undeniably included the clandestine involvement of the Soviet Union, history tells us that both of those conflicts were at the very least logistically, if not directly, proxy wars with Communist China. In fact, due to the heavy toll of American blood and treasure lost in both of those wars, the great take away but generally overlooked lesson of the cold war was probably the implicated importance of perspective in the management of US - China relations.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Cold War was over, making the U.S. the only superpower left in the world. This has made the international system much more tranquil, and relaxed. The only country potentially powerful besides the U.S., is China. Many Americans fear China, not only because they are communist, but also because of their huge population. Their population is 1.3 billion people, which accounts 1/5th of the world’s population. As one of the only potential superpowers in the world, it would be in the best interest of all Americans if the U.S. and China became allies, instead of enemies. Peace and development, economic prosperity and social progress, are goals that both of

The Australian-Chinese relationship stands as an important symbol for international relations in the Asian region. Presently, Australian face an important juncture in their relationship with China. Should Australians be concerned with Chinese military aggressions in the South China Sea or be more focused on strengthening an already strong Australian-Chinese economic partnership? China is Australia’s largest trading partner and has been a vehicle for Australian economic growth in recent decades (Drysdale & Xiaoqiang). Australian leaders must value the self-interest of the people of Australia. Leaders must focus on ensuring long term survival and prosperity of the great nation of Australia. I advocate a mostly defensive realist approach for Australian foreign policy towards China. I believe a policy of economic engagement suits the short and long term interest of Australia and will provide needed stability to the region.

In Christopher Coker’s book The Improbable War, is explaining to the reader why a war between The United State and China, is not impossible but, improbable meaning that it is possible. The author states that we can learn from history if we take the right lessons from it. The book is showing what the proper lessons from the world’s history are. The book aims to have the reader by the end not rule out the chance of war between the two major powers. One the rising power quickly becoming the second biggest world economies and looking to become the number one economy in the world. The other is the long standing number one economy in the world, that unlike times before will not relinquish their number one spot and all that comes with it. The scope of the book is to integrate history of conflicts and conflicts happening now and apply them to the probable ‘Sino-American’ war that could take place sometime in our not so distant future. The book calls upon other authors view and opinions to give the reader a wide range of views, instead of just one throughout the analysis.

While it is no secret that China seeks to become a great power, her goals are juxtapose to many other nations who sought the same goal over the last century. China is not out to impose an ideology upon the rest of the world as the Soviet Union did, nor does she plan to become a great military-industrial power as did Japan. China’s goals are multi-dimensional and seek slow and steady progress over the long run. In this respect, China is acting more like America: seeking to shape the world to fit its needs, rather than reacting to the world as others shape

We live in a world where America’s world dominance is beginning to fall. That is not because the decline of America, rather other countries are beginning to rise as global powers. One of these countries is China. Since the later 1970s, when China opened up its market, its economy has been on a dramatic rise. With this dramatic rise in China’s economy, it has given rise to a strengthening Chinese military power. Today China is a major player in the affairs of Southeast Asia and the world. China is also becoming more and more aggressive with its territorial desires. I believe that the United States should implement a few long-range steps that could constructively engage China, while also dissuading and deterring it from using force or the

China and U.S. relations are complex, but it is important to attribute historical context when analyzing contemporary issues. Prior to China establishing their global role as a superpower, their nation endured nearly a century of humiliation which began in the 1800s and concluded in the mid-1900s. Although they’ve redeemed their nationalism, the intrusion of Western imperialism created tension and hostility which lasted for years after. Also, the United States’ response to local Chinese events, such as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, negatively impacted their relationship because it was an example of how American media and officials utilized knowledge about particular Chinese events and disseminated various rhetorical messages in response.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has become more integrated and willing to cooperate within the global political and economic systems than ever in its history. However, there is growing apprehension in the Asia-Pacific region and the U.S. in regards to the consequences of rising in economic and military power in China. Descriptions about Chinese diplomacy in the policy and scholarly are less positive lately concerning China’s obedience to regional and international rules. There was little debate in the U.S. and elsewhere in regards to whether China was or was not part “the international community.” Scholars and experts in the early 1990s have contended

Realism assumes that under a balance of power, the overriding aim of all states is to maximize power and become the only hegemony in the system. States only help themselves in the anarchic international system. Therefore, China’s rise is regarded as a disconcerting threat to the U.S.’s primacy of power in the present international stage. The power shift in East Asia is creating security dilemmas; the U.S. thus demands more security to its Asian allies including Philippines, Japan and South Korea. The rapidly-rising Chinese power would inevitably challenge the current international balance of power and appear aggressively in the eyes of weaker power such as the Philippines. Therefore it seeks help to its ally, the U.S., to counterbalance the power of China. China intends to gain more resources and to transform current international order to its favor according to its national interests. The 2010 Chinese White Paper on National Defence states that: “Contradictions continue to surface between developed and developing countries and between traditional

Theories are used in many fields of science, but in no field are they more prevalent than Political Science. These theories are often used and researched upon to try and attempt to discern how states interact with one another. Offensive Realism, a new branch of realist political theory, is brought forth in John Mearsheimer’s book, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. This theory focuses on the key aspects of realism, while adding a twist as to why war is an option. In his book, Mearsheimer explains the history of great powers, and predicts that China, the world’s current rising great power, will not gain hegemony in Asia peacefully. With the rise of China, he asserts the US will form coalitions with multiple states throughout Asia, to contain their growing power. This rise in power, and subsequent reactions by the US, are based on his theory Offensive Realism, which is used to predict China’s future actions. The rise of powers, and the reactions of other powers, is historically analyzed, beginning in the late 18th century, all the way to modern times. These analyzes each attempt to support his overall claim that China will rise through non-peaceful means, and shows significant support with historical examples. While the theory often meets an exception when the usual non-European power, Japan, is mentioned, Mearsheimer’s theory introduces a solid new aspect to the realm of Political Science, and presents enough evidence and information to be considered integral to

Snyder claims that realism failed to predict the Cold War. Given this, Mearsheimer states “China cannot rise peacefully.” Since realists describe the world as a self-help system, according to Posen, every country “must look to its own interests relative to those of others” and because “security is the preeminent issue in an anarchic world, the distribution of capabilities to attack and defend should matter.” Thus, because China’s strive for regional hegemony inevitably threatens the power dynamic of the global system, the U.S. will, according to Mearsheimer, take an offensive realist approach that will eventually lead to war. In addition, as seen in post-Cold War, economic stability greatly determines the distribution of power. Friedberg notes, that the projected “speed and magnitude of China’s growth in recent decades appears to be unprecedented” and as early as 2015, “China’s economy could overtake that of the United States.” Although the U.S. faces an unprecedented challenge to economic power, according to Ikenberry, China has signaled cooperation by “redoubling its participation in existing institutions, such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit or working with the other great powers in the region to build new ones.” Nevertheless, following the actions of the U.S. post WWII, China strategically makes “itself more predictable and approachable” to reduce “the incentives for other

Within the IR field of study, the debate about China’s rise offers divergent viewpoints. For example, the opposing views between Offensive Realist Mearsheimer, and eclectic arguments by Kang. In a 2003 article, “Getting Asia Wrong,” Kang responds directly to Offensive Realist claims by Mearsheimer in 2001, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. Opposing the central assumption that Asian states would resist China, other states as per Kang, are not balancing China, rather are climbing on China’s bandwagon. In response to Kang, Mearsheimer (2006) in “China’s Unpeaceful Rise,” asserts actors like Japan, South Korea,