ABSTRACT
Today, it is almost universally agreed that the rise of China is a central issue of our day. The issue first emerged from the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The end of the Cold War was initially followed by a sense of American triumphalism in the United States and, some would say, a vindication of “the American way.” Quickly, however, American strategic thinkers began to scramble for ways to prolong America’s “unipolar moment.” The euphoria quickly gave way to a new hysteria within the US national security community about an alleged “China threat.” But for the unexpected intervention of 9/11 in 2001, the hysteria might have reached a fever pitch. Although global terrorism has temporarily superseded the “China threat,” the two longer-term issues of this century remain how to maintain American hegemony and how to deal with the China threat.
