Responding to the China Challenge (Essay‪)‬

Editor's Note: An eminent historian looks at the U.S.-China relationship and sees many possibilities for success and failure for the United States in coming to grips with the rise of China. Indeed, this intensely complex and multifaceted relationship appears to become ever complicated to manage for both parties.--The Editor The media provides almost daily reminders of how complex and tangled the U.S.-China relationship has become. The range of issues in play is extraordinary, even unprecedented. At the forefront right now are a mix of hardy perennials (such as arms sales to Taiwan, the future of Tibet, and human rights) and newly emergent concerns (such as internet censorship and cyber warfare, sanctions against Iran and North Korea, holdings of U.S. debt, the trade gap, currency devaluation, competition over oil and other natural resources, and the response to climate change). Taken together, these issues generate considerable contention and have the potential over time to spawn a dangerous level of ill will.