Lecture 7: The Obama Administration’s Strategic Rebalance

2015/1/27 14:35:52

Lecture 7: The Obama Administration’s Strategic Rebalance               Jan . 27 . 2015

Guest Speaker: ZHAOSuisheng, University of Denver, Josef Korbel School of International Studies Professor,and Executive Director, Center for China-U.S. Cooperation.

Moderator: Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, ShanghaiJiaotong University, School of International and Public Affairs Professor,Assistant Dean, and Executive Director, Center for the Study of MultinationalCorporations)

Time：10:30  am to 12:00 am, March 15, 2013

Location：Room 3005, Xinjian BLD

Bio:SUISHENG ZHAO is a founding editor of the Journalof Contemporary China, a member of the Board of Governors of the USCommittee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific, a memberof National Committee on US-China Relations, and a Research Associate atHarvard University Fairbanks Center for East Asian Research.  He is the author and editor of more than tenbooks, including China and East AsianRegionalism (2012), In Search ofChina’s Development Model (2011), VillageElections in China (2010), China andthe United States (2008), China-USRelations Transformed (2008), and ANation-State by Construction (2004).  His articles have appeared in top peerreviewed journals such as PoliticalScience Quarterly, Washington Quarterly,The China Quarterly, Asian Survey, and Pacific Affairs.  He receivedhis Ph.D. in political science from the University of California-San Diego.

Abstract：The Obama administration’s strategic rebalancingtoward the Asia-Pacific Region (APR) has been regarded by many strategists asthe US attempt to contain China's.  Towhat extent is the strategic rebalance about China?  Does it seek to contain China?  My argument is that the rebalance is not allabout China.  Shifting from an almostsingle-minded focus on the war on terror that slighted the APR, diverted the USattention from other key strategic issues, and caused anxieties among itsregional allies, the strategic rebalance is a continuation of the long-standingstruggle of the US to define its interests in the region. China, however, holdsa central place in the rebalance not only because working with China is the keyfor its success but also because the rebalance has to address the rapidlyshifting balance of power in the region where China has emerged as an ever-moreinfluential power. Containment, nevertheless, is not a viable objective becausethe attempt would have unsettling consequences not only for China but also forthe US and regional security and prosperity.