| Summary/Abstract |
It was a momentous choice. Three
decades ago, the Cold War ended, and
the United States had won. It was
now the sole great power on the planet.
Scanning the horizon for threats, U.S.
policymakers seemed to have little cause
for concern—and especially not about
China, a weak and impoverished country
that had been aligned with the United
States against the Soviet Union for over a
decade. But there were some ominous
signs: China had nearly *ve times as
many people as the United States, and its
leaders had embraced economic reform.
Population size and wealth are the main
building blocks ofmilitary power, so
there was a serious possibility that China
might become dramatically stronger in
the decades to come. Since a mightier
China would surely challenge the U.S.
position in Asia and possibly beyond, the
logical choice for the United States was
clear: slow China’s rise.
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