Clashing American images of an emergent China and 21st-century China-ASEAN relations: 2001-2008

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

International Studies

Document Type

Article

Source Title

International Journal of China Studies

Volume

2

Issue

3

First Page

601

Last Page

623

Publication Date

12-1-2011

Abstract

This article examines the clashing images of an emergent China among American China Watchers. In the early years of the 21st century, these American China Watchers dismissed the image of China as a military threat to the US. Instead, they observed that China uses its growing economic resources and multilateral diplomacy to enhance its relations with the ASEAN member-states. Eventually, they perceived China's emergence as a constraint on American political and economic interests in Southeast Asia. They depicted China as pervasively influential and applying soft-power to engage the US in a zero-sum game in the region. However, this image is negated by a contrasting view that accentuates the limits of Chinese diplomatic gambit. In conclusion, the article links these clashing images to Beijing's foreign policy objectives in Southeast Asia, and Washington's strategy of hedging against any challenge that an emergent China poses.

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Disciplines

International Relations

Keywords

China--Foreign relations--United States; United States--Foreign relations--China; China—Foreign public opinion

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