The United States and China in Power Transition - Strategic Studies ...

In addition to the continuation of economic development
and political change discussed earlier, China’s
nation-building efforts include unification with Taiwan,
settlement of the territorial disputes in the East
and South China Seas, its maritime ambitions, and the
issues of Tibet and Xinjiang. The United States is involved
directly or indirectly in all of these issues (see
Figure 4-2). While China is determined to complete its
nation-building process on its way to become a great
power, the United States is there to “watch China do
the right thing.”
Figure 4-2. China’s Unsettled Territorial Issues.
Unfortunately, because China and the United
States do not see eye to eye on these key issues, many
of China’s acts will be perceived as wrong-doings and
most of the U.S. involvement will be taken as ill-willed
interference in China’s internal affairs. These clashes
can turn into flashpoints, a mishandling of which can
set them on fire and get the United States and China
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