Conclusion: Chinese security discourse and its implications for the debate on the rise of China

In Chapter One, an extensive and critical review of the scholarly literature on the Western debate over the rise of China and on China’s security perceptions of other great powers was provided. While the current literature offers some interesting insights into the security thinking of Chinese elites, there are few systematic studies of Chinese security perceptions on the United States, Japan and Russia within a broader analytical framework. Most of the extant literature is descriptive, policy-oriented and atheoretical. Little attempt has been made to apply the relevant International Relations theories to the analysis of Chinese security perceptions.