China's Rise

We can hardly discuss any major foreign policy issue without China coming up. Indeed, questions about China are on the top of everyone's minds. How stable is the Communist Party regime? How does China's land reclamation in the South China Sea affect prospects for peace or conflict? How can we deter China from hacking into our networks and stealing vital national security and economic information? Does China's activity reflect its growing global ambition or is it driven by domestic concerns for stability and security? What are the consequences of a slowdown of the Chinese economic machine on the U.S. economy? China is at a crossroads. Its quest for development and global influence has come at a high cost of alienating partners and allies alike. There are cracks in the foundation, and imbalances remain politically, economically, and militarily. China cannot forsake and undermine the same international order that has helped incubate its rise to prominence. It cannot forget the agreements that it should honor or the spirit in which they were made.