Understanding China

The United States has been the world's dominant super power for the last 70 years. It sets the rules for international relations and seeks to maintain the status quo. That situation is changing. China is expected to equal the United States in power within two decades, and relations between the two have become increasingly confrontational. American policy makers need to understand Chinese attitudes formed during 4,000 years of their history--as leaders of civilization until 1800--and then as impotent objects of exploitation and derision for the next 100 years. The Chinese have strong resentments against the nations of the West, resentments that pose a danger of future conflict unless American policy makers understand and attempt to mitigate them. Any evaluation of China's future actions that omits its long history treats relations between the two countries as mere questions of economic tensions, military power, and super-power ambitions. While these factors are important, so also is cultural memory. This book presents a concise but complete overview of Chinese history up to 2014 and indicates crucial lessons that should be drawn in order to facilitate peaceful trade and cooperation.