Challenge and Response

"China's challenge to the United States--its rising economic power, military capability, and diplomatic and cultural influence--is likely one of the most important challenges facing the United States in the early 21st century. To properly respond, the United States--and the United States Air Force (USAF) in particular--must consider and find ways to deal with China's grand strategy, political and territorial fault lines, and the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Chapter 1, The China Challenge, examines these issues in detail. The United States has a wide menu of strategic options available with which to respond to this challenge. From that menu, the President has selected a balanced approach, incorporating both containment and engagement efforts. This approach encourages China to act as a "responsible stakeholder"--a nation which enforces the international rules, embraces the economic and political standards that go along with that system of rules, and contributes to international stability and security by working with the United States and other major powers-while hedging against other possibilities. As part of this strategy, the President has called on the United States to "develop agendas for cooperative action with the other main centers of global power," including China. Military-to-military engagement can be an important part of that agenda, despite differing US and Chinese perspectives on the subject. Chapter 2, The US Response, explains the United States' strategic options and the "responsible stakeholder" framework. It then provides a realistic view of the risks and benefits of US-China military-to-military engagement and sheds light on the fundamentally different US and Chinese views of transparency and reciprocity.