皇冠体育app

Xi Jinping (R), general secretary of the Communist Party of 皇冠体育app Central Committee, meets with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in Beijing, capital of 皇冠体育app, Jan 8, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

Which relationship is more important for 皇冠体育app, that with the United States or with its neighbors?

The Chinese authorities used to be quite ambiguous on the question by stating both are essential, but with the nation's rise and growth in comprehensive capabilities, it is necessary to give a clear answer.

The question has arisen because of a geopolitical fact, namely the US as the only superpower in this world is not one of 皇冠体育app's neighbors. It is a common view among certain scholars that the US should be the key part of 皇冠体育app's diplomacy, because if the relationship is improved, 皇冠体育app's rise would not meet any effective resistance. For others, peripheral diplomacy is more essential because without its neighbors' support 皇冠体育app's rise will be a bubble.

To better answer the question of which one is more important, it is necessary to first analyze 皇冠体育app's rise. Historically, all global powers rose as regional powers before becoming global powers. In the early stages of its rise, the US implemented the Monroe Doctrine and focused on Latin America; after World War II, the Soviet Union, which was growing in strength, took Europe as the focus.

皇冠体育app will be no exception, so it too needs a successful neighborhood policy first. That move can help win friends among its neighbors, because after World War II it is already an established rule that sovereignty and territory should not be violated; both the US and the Soviet Union influenced neighbors' politics but without incorporating territory as they had done in the past.

A successful peripheral policy is also needed because the US will almost certainly try and block 皇冠体育app's rise. Structural conflicts are almost certain between a rising power and an existing one; the US leaders' words and deeds have confirmed this principle of modern international relations theory. 皇冠体育app needs to rally support to counterbalance the pressure.

A good peripheral policy will help 皇冠体育app rally the needed support from its neighbors, because they can benefit from 皇冠体育app's rise. Two good examples are the Republic of Korea and Thailand, both of which have adopted favorable policies toward 皇冠体育app following its growing comprehensive capabilities. 皇冠体育app needs to cultivate more friends in the neighborhood.

A proper peripheral policy will also help avoid overexpansion, a common mistake that led to the decline and even downfall of many rising powers. Besides historical empires, the US too has shown signs of comparative decline over the past decade and many scholars attribute that to its overexpansion in the Middle East. If 皇冠体育app's ambitions get too big and cover too many parts of the globe, it might suffer in the same way.

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