Accommodating China's Rise

Accommodating China’s Rise

The rise of China will undoubtedly be one of the great dramas of the twenty-first century. (Ikenberry, 2008) China’s rapid rise for the past decade has somewhat changed the international image. It has become a leading power among developing countries. As China becomes more and more powerful and influential, the United States cooperates more with China on diverse issues and concerns more about U.S.-China relationship. In response to China’s rise, should the United States resist or accommodate it? The answer is the latter; the United States should accommodate and engage in China’s rise because of ongoing China’s integration in to current Western Order, the United States power’s decline in Northeast Asia, and finally China and the United States’ shared common interests and mutual benefits from cooperation.

For one thing, China is working with the current U.S.-led Western order instead of seeking to overthrow it, and the system has the capacity to accommodate China’s rise. (Zhou, 2008) On one side, China is a member of most international organizations and a signatory or adherent to a host of international agreements. (Bush, 2004) While China integrates, rather than pulls down, the U.S.-led Western order, a violent power transition is not likely to happen. In the mean time, the United States can try to reorient the Western order to build a new international system that both facilitates and limits China’s rise. Also, China is far behind the United States and can not become a great power soon. Thus, China will not easily take over the United States’ dominant position, matching the United States power. Correspondingly, the United States does not have to resist China’s rise. On the side, the Western order actually is already “starting to facilitate China’s development.”(Ikenberry, 2008) “Farsighted the United States leadership” created the Western order and now this system is embracing China’s rise. As the leader, the United States has to embrace this rise, too. In order to maintain its leadership, the United States should reorient itself and the existing Western order for China’s rise. The United States should “bring China further into the system.” (Zhou, 2008) In turn, for a peaceful relationship with the United States and other Western countries and for further development, China will continue to integrate the Western order. China’s rise is unavoidable; if the United States resists this rise, China will try to overthrow the current international order and build a new one that will benefit itself but clash the United States interests; the United States will decline soon and hand over its dominance to China.

For another thing, “after 60 years of the United States domination, the balance of power in Northeast Asia is shifting. The United States is in relative decline, China is on the rise.” (Shaplen and Laney, 2007) To maintain