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

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North Korea. This act should relieve the <strong>United</strong><br />

<strong>States</strong> from a hostile problem that has cost the<br />

<strong>United</strong> <strong>States</strong> blood <strong>and</strong> treasure for well over<br />

6 decades. With the removal of hostility, North<br />

Korea has no more excuse to develop nuclear<br />

weapons. <strong>The</strong> <strong>United</strong> <strong>States</strong> is no longer part<br />

of the problem. <strong>The</strong> eventual denuclearization<br />

<strong>in</strong> North Korea, which is a <strong>Ch<strong>in</strong>a</strong>-led pr<strong>in</strong>ciple<br />

<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>itiative, will be an issue of the Northeast<br />

Asia nations. <strong>The</strong> <strong>United</strong> <strong>States</strong> can reengage<br />

<strong>in</strong> this issue as an “off-shore balancer” 3 with<br />

much strategic flexibility.<br />

• In the next 30 years, the gap between the U.S.<br />

<strong>and</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>ese comprehensive national power<br />

will cont<strong>in</strong>ue to exist, but it will become smaller.<br />

<strong>The</strong> power transition theory believes that<br />

the risk of war will become bigger when the<br />

two nations’ national power approaches parity.<br />

U.S. <strong>and</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>ese leaders must pay more attention<br />

to the changes com<strong>in</strong>g out of the power<br />

transition <strong>in</strong> the years ahead <strong>and</strong> make more<br />

efforts to manage the changes accord<strong>in</strong>gly.<br />

ENDNOTES - SUMMARY<br />

1. Dong Feng (董风), “中美军事关系究竟怎么了” (“What Is<br />

the Matter with the U.S.-<strong>Ch<strong>in</strong>a</strong> Military Relations?”) 世界知识<br />

(World Affairs), No. 13, 2010.<br />

2. Wu Jiao, “New Era for S<strong>in</strong>o-Russian Ties: Jo<strong>in</strong>t Declaration<br />

Pledges Mutual Support on Key Security Issues,” <strong>Ch<strong>in</strong>a</strong> Daily,<br />

June 17, 2011.<br />

3. See Christopher Lane’s works for the idea of the <strong>United</strong><br />

<strong>States</strong> as an off-shore balancer.<br />

xvi

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