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A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia. By Aaron L. Friedberg. New York: W. W. Norton, 201 1 . 360 pp. $27.95 (cloth).
Prevailing wisdom holds that a Sino-US confrontation is highly unlikely and any difference between the two countries is simply the result of misperception. Therefore, treating China with suspicion would be highly counterproductive. Princeton professor Aaron L. Friedberg makes immediately clear his displeasure with such optimistic assessments and argues for a more assertive reaction to the rise of China by the United States and its allies. Friedberg argues that since the end of the Cold War, China and the United States have competed for power and influence around the globe. Presently, US-Chinese competition remains relatively low profile, yet fundamental differences in geopolitical interests and ideological orientations will increasingly drive the two toward more hostile relations. While not beyond reproach, Friedberg delivers novel insight into contemporary Chinese foreign policy and a comprehensive challenge to those optimistic about the future of US-China relations.
Friedberg's objective is to chronicle the incompatible national interests of China and the United States, delineate the practical consequences of this incompatibility, and recommend policies to ensure US interests prevail. Therefore, Friedberg raises a number of questions: What forces are driving the United States and China toward competition? What strategies currently guide China's foreign policy? Which state exercises more influence regionally and globally? Which state currently maintains a favorable balance of power? Encompassing all these considerations is the book's most fundamental question: Who is winning the contest for supremacy?
Friedberg is not fatalistic about...