Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 04/2012

To Stay Ahead of China, Stay Engaged in Asia

Michael Beckley

January 2012

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University

Abstract

Despite the hype about the rise of China, current power trends favor continued U.S. dominance. National power has three main material components: wealth, innovation, and military power. Over the last twenty years, China has fallen further behind the United States in all of these areas.