ABSTRACT
The previous chapters have examined Chinese security discourse of the three major powers in East Asia, namely, the United States, Japan and Russia. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the discussion and debates among Chinese scholars and analysts on how China should respond to the security challenge of the three East Asian powers. This debate is complex and wide-ranging and is extremely important to our understanding of how Chinese elites seek to construct a great power identity for their country. China’s response to the security strategies of the major powers should be understood within the context of its overall assessment of the changing international security environment in the post-Cold War era.
