American Response to Rising Powers in an offensive Neo-Realist World: A Rising China and Its Challenge to American Interests

American Response to Rising Powers in an Offensive Neo-Realist World: A Rising China and its challenge to American Interests

The year is 2045, it's a brisk December morning and the television is turned to CNN news in many American homes. China once again makes headlines as they have successfully landed a man on mars. The Chinese military has developed a missile defense system and is making plans to confront the Japanese military over fishing rights in the pacific. The Chinese market also makes headlines since it is the largest market in the world in terms of GDP and produces 30% of the products in the world. The effects of the Chinese military can be felt in the U.S since it has had to withdraw its navy from the pacific and now has smaller global reach. Three out of ten products picked up at Wal-Mart have the all too familiar "Made in China" printed on the back. This future is of course, fictional and too many may seem farfetched and impossible. However, this future is not all that unrealistic and with the current development of China, it may soon be a reality. China is headed towards a future where China is a global superpower economically, militarily and politically. How should American foreign policy address a rising China? Should we be accommodating and welcome a rising China or should we prevent China from ever reaching superpower status? Given the development of China, the way rising powers interact with world powers historically as well as theoretically and current as well as hisotoric Sino-American realations, we should develop a dessisive foreign policy that addresses the potential threat China posses to American Interests.

The Chinese Economic Miracle

China is everywhere these days. The words "Made in China" are universally recognized. China sews more shoes and stitches more clothes than any other country in the world. It is also the biggest producer of consumer electronics making more DVD's, TV's and cellular phones than any other country in the world. The Chinese economy is marked by a robust growth rate of 10.2%, compared to a miniscule 3.2% of the United States. China also has the second largest economy in the world at 2.2 trillion. Furthermore factories are constantly outsourcing jobs to China since production there is much cheaper. When factories move to China they bring technology with them and as a result the Chinese population is becoming more current on cutting edge technology. To understand the Chinese economy we must explore how it all began.

The story begins with the 1949 revolution , led by Mao Zedong. After winning the revolution Mao Zedong ended a system of private land ownership that dated back for centuries. In 1956 China turned away from individual land use and assimilated the Soviet model of collectivization. Furthermore the