U.S. Response to Chinese Rivalry

U.S. Response to Chinese Rivalry in Asia-Pacific Region

With the end of the Cold War, the United States lost its primary rival for influence in the world: the Soviet Union. Moreover, the importance of Europe to the United States declined in importance in relation to that of the Asia-Pacific Region. U.S. trade with Asian nations now exceeds that with European nations and this disparity will continue to grow. Japan now has the second largest economy in the world (after that of the United States) and China's economy is projected to be the third largest within twenty years. This means that the country exercising the most influence in this region will probably also be the most influential nation in the world.

Without a doubt, China represents the greatest contender for the role as chief rival of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. It has by far the largest population of any nation in the world, it has the numerically largest military force in the world, and it is one of five countries which maintains a sizeable nuclear force. It is the only country in the Asia-Pacific region which possesses large numbers of both nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles. Thus, it has the power to intimidate the other countries in the region and to disrupt their trade.

There is also historical precedent for Chinese bids for dominance of the region. China militarily dominated Asia for several centuries and contested dominance of Asia with Japan during the Twe

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d to participate in the worldwide economic markets, they prefer to participate on their own terms. They tend to view completely open markets as part of the same Western culture which emphasizes liberal philosophies centered on the individual. The result of this thinking can be a sort of "knee-jerk" reaction on the part of Asian governments when the subject of "open markets" is raised (Gill and Henley, 1997, pp. 8-9). Objective The objective of the United States is to counter attempted Chinese economic and political hegemony in the region. The challenge for the United States in countering Chinese influence is ensuring that such counteraction will not adversely affect the attitudes of other Asian countries, which could lead to adverse consequences for the interest in maintaining open markets. Options The options for preventing such Chinese domination in the region are very similar to that devised for maintaining open economic markets. Chinese leaders must be engaged in dialogues to convince them that the U.S. does not wish to interfere in Chinese domestic policy or with Chinese economic trade. Doing so could help alleviate Chinese fears that the United States wishes to dominate the region and will educate the Chinese leader

Category: Foreign - U