Essay Example on China & US: Peaceful Rise to Prosperity

Part 1

Scenario #1(liberalism) is supported by the Chinese and the American liberals. It will allow China to have a peaceful rise to prosperity without being involved in wars crisis and cold wars. The liberals who favor the peaceful rise of China hold that it is likely and possible since it is China's interest. They argue that America should support it because, it will benefit economically due to the rise of China. It will also have another powerful trading partner and a partner to share costs or to provide public goods such as prosperity and peace to the world system. Liberals support this scenario because they believe that the international economic order that was developed by the United States after World War II is crucial to all. As such, China should willingly integrate with this order. To achieve this, it should first open up economically, then militarily, politically, and culturally.

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However, this line of thought is not supported by all scholars. One of the authors who have a contrary opinion concerning scenario #1 is Robert Zoellick. He provided a friendly version where before opening up China membership in the international system, America should first urge it to be a responsible player in the global system. The argument is that it has a responsibility to strengthen a system that enabled its prosperity. It should also start its international environment at home. According to Zoellick, China is faced with internal weaknesses due to vast rural poverty, where more than 200 million people leave in less than a dollar. It also has social and political challenges. As such, it should solve them first to prove that it can be able to help in international aspects. Besides aspects such as currency manipulation, counterfeiting, rampant piracy shows that China might try to control the market rather than creating a competitive market (Zoellick, 2005). It should first be urged to rectify these issues since a significant global player should never tolerate counterfeiting and intellectual property theft.

On the other hand, Salvatore Babones approached the aspect of scenario #1 with a robust approach. He argues that we should not judge China with current economic development. To him, China has been enjoying forty years boom, which will soon come to an end. As such, it is the best time for America to punish it toward real reform. Salvatore Babones was convinced by 2020, China's economy will start to shrink and become similar to other countries such as Mexico. Considering that China needs real reform, Babones stated that this is the right time, and America should take advantage since reforming Chinese people can only be done by an external force (Babones, 2019).

Both Babones and Zoellick have something in common in that they feel that it is only through a reformation that a peaceful rise and engagement will be possible. The disputable aspect is hence how to make reform China. Between the two alternatives, I think that Babione's strict approach will be a better option. His argument is persuasive because if America dictates that China should first deal with its internal problems and others exposed to other economies such as counterfeiting, then this might be more effective than using a polite version suggested by Zoellick. This will be possible, especially if China's boom comes to a halt, as stated by Babones. However, incase Babones is not right about China's economy coming to an end, then the friendly approach suggested by Zoellick becomes the best approach since if China's economy continues growing, it might form a competition of high power against America and this might lead to cold wars.

2. Policy analysis 2 essay: 500 Words

Mearsheimer, in his chapter concerning whether China can rise peacefully, he argues that it cannot be possible. According to him, the United States does not hold world hegemony as many people state since this is not possible, but it is the only country with a regional authority. During the post-cold war period, America was not that powerful, and it had to contain it was faced by the challenge of trying to include its power peers such as Nazi German. However, after the world war, it builds up its power in such a way that no country can threaten it, which makes it easy to dominate the western sphere. Currently, even if there are various countries such as Russia which are robust, their power cannot challenge the United States. However, if the state of China's economic growth continues for a few other decades, it will attempt to gain hegemony in Asia. If this happens, then America will again learn power peer competitors. However, about offensive realism, countries are concerned about their securities to compete with others for power and get more shares and eventually dominate the international system. The implication is that powerful nations will seek to establish hegemony in their sphere while ensuring that no other state establishes authority in their region. As such, America will go to a higher height to ensure that China does not establish hegemony in Asia. Though china tries to show that their intention is only based on economic expansion, any attempt to increase its security will be perceived by the United States as offensive rather than defensive. Besides, countries in Asia will also see such moves, not as a threat to their security. In this case, a cold war will be inevitable (Mearsheime, 2014). Eventually, the United States will join forces with Asian countries to contain China.

On his side, Peter Navarro holds a position that if the trend of China's economy continues as it has been in the last 30years for the next 30 years, then a war will be inevitable. China will tend to convert its economic power into military might. It will try to dominate Asia, similar to how the United States dominates Western Hemisphere. However, America will not allow this to happen, and it will use all means to ensure that China does not dominate Asia. It will find a balancing power from Asia and find ways to contain China (Navarro, 2016). Navarro also rejects any possibility of peaceful economic transactions between China and the United States, stating that two competing powers cannot be involved in friendly business transactions.

Economic power and military power are two inseparable things. Since China's economy might not halt as expected and that America would not like to see it become its peer competitor, scenario # 2, a cold war seems more likely than any other. America will try to oppose different scenarios such as scenario #1, which may put China in a better position to gain more economic power, which it can use later against it. Besides, this scenario is more desirable than any other. This is because; it will put America in a better position to contain China as it happened in the case of the Soviet Union. Regarding the threat that China poses to the world, it requires containment now before it becomes too powerful and uncontrollable.

3. Week 10 essay: Book Review: 500 Words

Peter Navarro and Gordon C. Chang, Crouching Tiger: What China's Militarism Means for the World. 2011. "Will there be war with China?

In this book, the authors try to analyze the probability of America having a war with China. It perceives China as a rising superpower in the Asia hemisphere. However, the authors also examine the in-depth possibility of peace. Based on an interview with over thirty to experts, the authors question the aspect of current disturbing issues concerning China's buildup of military. Some of the supposed American allies in Asia and Europe are selling ballistic missiles and lethal weapons to China in the name of globalization. The author also points out that the debilitating budget cut on the side of the United States shows that Americans seem not serious about its pivot to Asia. As it may, the book maintains that America should concentrate on strengthening its military strength and alliances and avoid risky optimistic considerations on how to relate with China, such as nuclear deterrence, negotiations, and economic engagements to ensure peace. This book utilizes multidisciplinary work that blends political science, military doctrine, international relations, history, economics, and geopolitical.

One of the disputable points from Chang and Peter (2015) on the likely and desirable path about China is that complacent optimist that relies on negotiations and economic engagement though they might seem likely; they are not the most beneficial approach. In supporting this argument, the authors provide powerful and compelling evidence that shows why these engagements might not stop the impending war. They use multidisciplinary work as a rationale to show that if the economy of China continues to grow, it will end up turning it into militarism power. Using international relations doctrine, the authors show that states are always interested in two things, which are economic power and security, which is determined by the area that a state can controls. Whenever a country gains economic power, its next move would be to try and dominate and control its region and eventually, the entire world. Using historical facts, economic power gained by China would result from urging to control Asia just as America's economic growth resulted in measures to control the Western hemisphere. However, the authors also noted that China might be faced with a dilemma to choose between its militarism security and economic development. Nevertheless, using military doctrine, they show that states would choose its security over economic power. The implication is that even if there will be commercial engagements between China and the United States, this will not limit China from attempting to gain military power and hence not desirable.

The other argument is that focusing on the possibility of negotiations and economic interactions with China puts America in a risky position. They can lead to America being caught off-guard by China. The authors put across strong points that prove that these approaches can't work. The implication is that such consideration can make America turn a blind eye on China while it organizes and strengthens its military power. They pointed out some facts such as military buildup by China and attempt for power shift in Asia while the United States is cutting its military budget as a risky approach. The authors warn that America should be strengthening its military and strengthening alliances to be able to contain China.

1. EC#1

Mau Zidong died in 1976, and China that he presided over was different from the current china. During his rule, China was faced with challenges by economic stagnation with problems of insufficiency, mass famine, political instability, and political terror. It was isolated from the international relations even in the western bloc. The progression of china started from 1978 to the present day. After the death of Mau, Deng Xiaoping, who had an excellent background as a military man, took over and decided to transform China. After culture transformation, which led to millions of deaths, Deng Xiaoping using skills he had acquired from his experience in the Soviet Union, France, and in the military, he started to reorganize people who were criticizing the Cultural Revolution in his program of economic development based on science and technology. He mobilized the government to have a 12 years scientific plan and financial plan that would help in the development of all kinds of factories in an attempt to modernize China. Modernization programs were divided into technology, science, national defense, agriculture, education, and industry. His priority was science and technology, and he pushed for the development of the National Academy of Science. He then started building a relationship with the United States and Japan to get help for modernization. He th...