International security

No Bigger Question: How Should the U.S. Handle the Rise of China?

For over a decade, American policymakers have worried that China might be a potential rival to the United States. However, the U.S. government has not implemented a clear plan for how to address and react to changes in the U.S.-China relationship. Columbia University’s Richard K. Betts sees this sort of intellectual paralysis as a pressing problem. He argues that “the longer that there’s no choice … the more dangerous the possibilities of unanticipated confrontation and escalation become.”

The issue evinces a sharp division between national security experts, who, according to Betts, fall into one of two categories. Either they believe the United States should “accommodate the rise of China [and] recognize it as a potential superpower with the natural aspirations and same prerogatives as we have” or they hope to “contain China and forthrightly set out a strategy and set of alliance relationships to prevent China’s rise from going in directions we don’t like.” These two strategies are mutually exclusive.