China's Rise to Power Will Essay

In each of these cases, the impact of the countries' relative geographic proximity should not be underestimated. Countries like Britain and France, or Holland and England, had significant land to gain from the other and this was a main reason for their conflicts.

The only instance in which a rising power usurped the existing power without war resulting was when the United States overthrew Britain; this example is more analogous to the dynamic between the United States and China since there is less geographical proximity. However, it should also be noted that the United States is significantly more powerful than Britain was and so they should not feel as threatened. However, it would be most useful for the United States to work cooperatively and attempt to contain China's rise through engagement. An attempt to contain China would be ill-advised as it would vastly underestimate the influence that China possesses within the global economy. While it is true that China faces its own challenges regarding integrating within an economic order that has been dominated by Western democracies (namely, significant geographical distance from other economic powers and the fact that many sections of China, including Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Taiwan, and Mongolia are engaged in conflict within the country's own borders), a policy of containment would disregard the vast economic and military resources that China possesses.The policy of engagement would also be mutually beneficial since (despite their increasing economic gains) it is most likely that China does not wish to engage in large-scale conflict. Indeed, Qingguo and Rosecrance (2010) contend that although China intends to remain prosperous, they respect that the United States will remain powerful. By refraining from containment, America will remain powerful and maintain the peaceful status quo.

References

Finn, J.D. (2008). China-U.S. Economic and Geopolitical Relations. Hauppauge: Nova Science Publications, Inc.

Qingguo, J., & Rosecrance, R. (2010). Delicately poised: Are China and the U.S. heading….....