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The explosion of the international financial crisis in 2008 unexpectedly brought China into the final stage of its rise to a great power. The China shock ignited a strong response from the United States and Australia, which are strategic allies to each other. Trilateral relations between China, the United States, and Australia thus began to take shape. As an important player in the trilateral game, China should review its position and role by drafting a new strategy to promote its new interests. However, in strategic debates among Chinese academics - hardliners and softliners alike - proposals for China's strategic readjustment do not meet the need for a revamped, comprehensive foreign strategy, particularly with regard to China's new situation in the trilateral framework. China's reluctance to devise a grand strategy thus far has hindered its rise - a trend that will continue until China articulates and adopts a strategic approach that is consistent with its new global position.
Key Words: China's Rise, China's Asia Strategy, Trilateralism
I. Introduction
Over the course of just 30 years, China has progressed from being a relatively marginal member of the international community to being a key participant in economic, political, and security issues at both the regional and global level (Beeson and Li, 2012: 35-52; Reilly, 2012: 7192). In the context of the rise of China, Southeast Asian countries and Australia have begun shifting towards an accommodation policy (White, 2005: 469-480; Manicom and O'Neil, 2010: 23-44; He, 2012: 70). Particularly since Kevin Rudd, the former Australian prime minister, called for the establishment of an Asia Pacific Community in his speech to the Asia Society, Austral Asia Centre on June 4, 2008 (Rudd, 2008), voices in Australia have increasingly called for addressing trilateralism among China, the United States, and Australia as a fundamental governing structure of Asia-Pacific regionalization (He, 2011). In their opinion, a potential trilateral relationship would be positive for regionalization and contribute to reducing the current friction among the three countries.
The word "trilateralism" came to China through Western academia, and thus far most Chinese scholars have not completely comprehended its meaning. Traditionally, it was used to indicate the political and economic policy of encouraging friendly relations among three nations or regions, especially the United States, Western Europe,...