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

FOREWORD
The United States and China have experienced
many changes in their relations in the past 30 years.
Some international security experts posit that the
most profound one has begun—an apparent power
transition between the two nations. This potentially
titanic change, it is argued, was set in motion by China’s
genuine and phenomenal economic development
over the past decade, or so. Clearly, China's impact on
the United States and the U.S.-led international system
has been growing steadily.
Historically, most great power transitions were
consummated by war. Can China and the United States
avoid a deadly contest and spare the world another
catastrophe? The good news is that the two nations
expressed goodwill in the mid-2000s, with China’s
promise of peaceful development and the U.S. call for
China to become a responsible stakeholder in the extant
international system. The bad news is that China
and the United States still have many unsettled issues,
some of which directly involve the two nations’ core
interests and others indirectly entangled with China’s
neighbors. Those issues can lead to the two nations
stumbling into unintended clashes, hence triggering a
repeat of the great power tragedies of the past.
Some scholars predict that over the next 30 years
and beyond, this apparent power transition process
will continue to be a defining factor in the U.S.-China
relationship. What can we expect from China and
the United States with respect to the future of international
relations? As China’s economic, political,
cultural, and military influences continue to grow
globally, what kind of a global power will China become?
What kind of a relationship will China develop
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