Understanding China’s Rise Through the Eyes of Scholars and Beyond

Abstract

The chapter summarizes the findings of the book. We further show that Chinese international relations (IR) scholars perceive the United States to pose the greatest threat to China’s national security, but a direct military confrontation between the two countries in the near future unlikely. If Chinese IR scholars can be seen as a reliable proxy measure of Chinese leadership, our study suggests that China has a benign and somewhat (over)optimistic perception on US–China relations before Trump’s “trade war” with China in early 2018. While the trade war might eventually be resolved, it will not be the end of US–China competition for prestige and leadership in the international system. How to share international leadership will be a challenge for both countries in the twenty-first century.