A poor China might be more dangerous than a rich China

This chapter focuses on the rise of China. Decades of double-digit annual growth have created the world’s second-largest economy, and many observers have proclaimed that the twenty-first century “belongs” to Beijing. This chapter asks: What if China’s development stalls? What, if, instead of becoming a new superpower, China’s economic and political woes prevent it from rising above the status of regional power? How will China’s domestic issues shape its response to the new policies of the Trump administration? This chapter describes how China’s rise has already reshaped world politics, but argues that a stagnant China might be even more challenging to the U.S.-led world order than a successful one. Moreover, a China that faces increasing pressure from Trump administration might be one that lashes out against U.S. goals and policies in the Asia/Pacific region and around the world.