China: An Unfounded Fear?

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that some have seen the economic rise of China not as an opportunity but as a threat, viewing anything that makes China stronger as also making the West weaker. The paper discusses how some perceive China as an environmental, economic or military threat. The paper concludes that this fear is more a perception than a reality at the present time, and it is also impossible to see what will happen in the next few years that might shift this perception.

Outline:
Introduction
The Rise of China
Foreign Policy and Intentions
China: Opportunity or Threat?
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Much in international relations has changed over the past two decades beginning with the dissolution of the Soviet bloc and the disintegration of the Soviet Union and continuing now with the slow growth of a more open market in China. For decades, both the USSR and China were seen as enemies of the West as both were Communist in their orientation, though the two Communist powers did not always g along themselves, a fact which only made them more threatening to much of the rest of the world.. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, China became the major Communist power in the world, far more of a threat than Cuba, yet treated quite differently than that smaller country. Where America has kept Cuba outside the world's markets as much as possible and has continued to treat any contact with Cuba as a threat to national security, the U.S. has encouraged investment and other contacts with China, aiding in the economic development of that huge country on the theory that economic development and contact with the outside world would lead inevitably to improved relations and to a more capitalist system in China."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anderson, J.G. "Tensions across the Straight: China's Military Options Against Taiwan Short of War." Heritage Foundation Backgrounder (September 28, 1999), 1-9.
• "Ask Dr. Foreign Relations." Time (23 June 1997), 23.
• Broomfield, Emma V. "Perceptions of Danger: The China Threat Theory." Journal of Contemporary China 12(35)(2003), 265-284.
• Cable, Vincent and Peter Ferdinand. "China As an Economic Giant: Threat or Opportunity?" International Affairs 70(2)(April 1994), 243-261.
• China .CIA World Factbook (2008), http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html#Trans.

More papers on China: An Unfounded Fear?:

• Term Paper # 146334 : "Setting-up a Business in Beijing, China- An Environmental Analysis"
• Essay # 49849 : "China: An Emerging Market"
• Essay # 33653 : "China-Taiwan Relations"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: