Remarks during a recent conference

in Poland titled Power Politics in the

Indo-Pacific Region raised questions

rather than solving any.

At the conference, John

Mearsheimer, a professor at the Uni-

versity of Chicago and an expert on

international relations, said: “China

is more likely to become a counter-

weight to the US, who will not allow a

new rival to emerge. Hence, it is trying

every means to contain China’s rise.

“The US has defeated its rivals

time and time again in the past,”

Mearsheimer said. “This time it is Chi-

na’s turn. China will also be defeated

by the US.”

But at the end of the day, it boils

down to one central question among

others: Is it necessary to contain Chi-

na?

The rise of the United States from a

former British colony into a supreme

power was propelled by its profiteer-

ing from both warring sides in world

wars, joining the Allies in the later

period of World War II, and orches-

trating the disintegration of the for-

mer Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

In those decades, China was too

poor to warrant any attention until

earlier this century.

The US no longer saw China as a

source of cheap labor for American

multinationals but a potential threat

to future US hegemony. Since about

2005, it seems to have developed a

covert China containment policy,

which has two aspects: multi-frontal

containment and internal transfor-

mation.

Unlike European powers often ris-

ing on the ruins of another, the Chi-

nese nation has stayed away from

hegemony despite its economic pre-

ponderance for millennia.

In traditional Chinese culture, the

quest for harmony — or at times only

the simple appearance of harmony —

is constant.

Inside

Chinesefirmstop

FortuneGloballist

CHINANEWS,PAGE

Mythicalfigure

castsspellover

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LIFE,PAGE

ByXxxxxxxxxx

WORLDWATCH

SeeSkeptics,page

Cooperation

shouldbe

focusofties

withtheUS

ByKaceeTingWong

Alcoholsalesboom

asdrinkingcultureof

Chineseconsumers

graduallychanges

ByCHENYINGQUN

[email protected]

F

or Lu Xin, a large liquor cabinet

was the first thing that came to

mind when he and his wife consid-

ered decorating a new apartment.

“We are definitely not alcoholics,” said

Lu, 32, who is from Beijing and works in

the financial industry. “But it is relaxing

at times to take a sip of wine or whiskey

before going to bed.”

SeeAlcohol,page

SONG CHEN / CHINA DAILY

CHINADAILY

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