No single issue is likely to have a more profound impact on the future of international relations than the evolving relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton observed before leaving office, Washington and Beijing “are trying to do something that has never been done in history,” namely, “write a new answer to the question of what happens when an established power and a rising power meet.”
Not only is China on rate to have the world’s largest economy sometime in the next several decades, but it has also been reshaping its military at an impressive rate. Once a technologically underdeveloped organization preoccupied with continental defense against the former Soviet Union, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is evolving into a modern force increasingly focused on countering intervention by the United States.
Given these developments, how should Washington respond to China’s rise? Can it maintain its existing grand strategy of deep engagement, or will it be compelled to adopt a less ambitious grand strategy such as offshore balancing? What are the implications of these alternatives for U.S. military strategy, capabilities, and posture?