A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia

There may be no denying China's growing economic strength, but its impact on the global balance of power remains hotly contested. Political scientist Aaron L. Friedberg argues that our nation's leaders are failing to act expeditiously enough to counter China's growing strength. He explains how the United States and China define their goals and reveals the strategies each is now employing to achieve its ends. Friedberg demonstrates in this provocative book that the ultimate aim of Chinese policymakers is to "win without fighting," displacing the United States as the leading power in Asia while avoiding direct confrontation. The United States, on the other hand, sends misleading signals about our commitments and resolve, putting us at risk for a war that might otherwise have been avoided. A much-needed wake-up call to U.S. leaders and policymakers, A Contest for Supremacy is a compelling interpretation of a rivalry that will go far to determine the shape of the twenty-first century.

Friedberg (Princeton U.) wrote an essay in a 2000 issue of Commentary arguing that there was "a good chance that the United States will find itself engaged in an open and intense geopolitical rivalry with the People's Republic of China." Events of the past ten years confirm that view, he argues here, with China more forcefully resisting pressure for change in its economic and human rights policies, more openly displaying its military capabilities, more willing to use its economic clout to exert diplomatic leverage, and more open in questioning American power in Asia and the world. Chinese hegemony over Asia will pose grave dangers to US interests and values throughout the world, he warns, while describing the sources and manifestations of Chinese power and offering advice on how the US should shift policy to meet the challenge of Chinese power. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

An explosive examination of the fast-escalating Sino-American struggle for geopolitical predominance.

Aaron L. Friedberg is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School and a former deputy assistant for national security affairs in the Office of the Vice President. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.