Breaking the Engagement

Shambaugh attributes the recent sharp deterioration of relations to a combination of China's actions and American expectations. Xi Jinping's increasingly assertive foreign policy and domestic repression has directly challenged American interests. More deeply, he argues that the real underlying cause is America's longstanding paternalistic approach to transform China into a liberal state and society which conforms with the US-led global liberal order. When China has generally evolved in this direction^--^politically, economically, socially, intellectually, and internationally^--^it corresponds with American aspirations and the two could cooperate. But when Beijing pushes back against this transformative strategy^--^which Beijing sees as subversion^--^ Americans become disillusioned and US policymakers see China as a malign regime, which must be countered. By focusing on the role of perceptions and US expectations in fueling the shift toward competition and rivalry in the last decade, Shambaugh provides a unique new perspective on this critical global relationship.