US-China Relations and the Specter of Great Power War

Author(s): Michael Haas, Niklas Masuhr
Editor(s): Michael Haas, Oliver Thränert
Series Editor(s): Andreas Wenger
Book Title: Strategic Trends 2020: Key Developments in Global Affairs
Series: Strategic Trends
Pages: 31-53
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich
Publication Year: 2020
Publication Place: Zurich

As the strategic rivalry between the US and China intensifies, militarized crises are becoming more likely and a major military conflict is no longer as remote as it once seemed. The far-reaching modernization of its armed forces has already led China to embrace a more sanguine view of how such a conflict might play out. Meanwhile, the United States is struggling to formulate a coherent response to a potential Chinese attempt to recast the regional order by force. Although war remains unlikely, the need to get real about the possibility is now more urgent than at any point in recent decades.

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US and Chinese Military Capabilities

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