HUAS95029 - The US-China Conflict

Course Description

The emergence of China as a great power has placed increasing pressure on a global system dominated by the US and its allies, and in recent years the two sides have moved toward confrontation. This course explores both the long-term and immediate reasons for the deteriorating US-China relationship. We begin with the historical background of China’s encounter with Western imperialism in the nineteenth century and the decades of Cold War hostility with the US. We then turn to China’s reintegration into the global economy, its growing wealth and power, and its increasing assertiveness under President Xi Jinping. The course concludes with a consideration of possible futures for the US-China relationship.