Since the 1990s, China has coordinated its economic expansion with strategic, political, and foreign policy objectives. Through bilateral trade agreements, World Trade Organization accession in 2001, greater involvement in regional institutions like the ASEAN Plus Three, and numerous soft-power initiatives, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has embarked upon what many scholars have termed a “grand strategy” to expand its influence around the world. What remains unclear are the ultimate aims of this grand strategy, the role China hopes to play in East Asia, and how the PRC intends to manage relations with the United States.

At this AEI conference, resident scholar Claude Barfield will address many of these issues in a presentation of a chapter from his forthcoming book, The Eagle and the Dragon: The U.S., China and the Rise of Asian Regionalism, co-authored with Andrei Zlate. Phillip C. Saunders of the National Defense University and Margaret M. Pearson of the University of Maryland will discuss Barfield’s presentation.