Throughout the past three decades East Asia has seen more peace and
stability than at any time since the Opium Wars of 1839-1841. During
this period China has rapidly emerged as a major regional power,
averaging over nine percent economic growth per year since the
introduction of its market reforms in 1978. Foreign businesses have
flocked to invest in China, and Chinese exports have begun to flood the
world. China is modernizing its military, has joined numerous regional
and international institutions, and plays an increasingly visible role
in international politics. In response to this growth, other states in
East Asia have moved to strengthen their military, economic, and
diplomatic relations with China. But why have these countries
accommodated rather than balanced China's rise?
David C. Kang believes certain preferences and beliefs are responsible
for maintaining stability in East Asia. Kang's research shows how East
Asian states have grown closer to China, with little evidence that the
region is rupturing. Rising powers present opportunities as well as
threats, and the economic benefits and military threat China poses for
its regional neighbors are both potentially huge; however, East Asian
states see substantially more advantage than danger in China's rise,
making the region more stable, not less. Furthermore, although East
Asian states do not unequivocally welcome China in all areas, they are
willing to defer judgment regarding what China wants and what its role
in East Asia will become. They believe that a strong China stabilizes
East Asia, while a weak China tempts other states to try to control the
region.
Many scholars downplay the role of ideas and suggest that a rising China
will be a destabilizing force in the region, but Kang's provocative
argument reveals the flaws in contemporary views of China and the
international relations of East Asia and offers a new understanding of
the importance of sound U.S. policy in the region.
