At the recent China Development Forum 2016, the Hon. Henry Kissinger and the Hon. Dai Bingguo had a dialogue on avoiding the Thucydides' trap. This is a critical issue that tests China's ability to ascend peacefully and the US willingness to accept China's continuing rise within the existing international institutions.

At the core of growing debate over the acceptability of China's rise is whether such a rise will remain peaceful. When China opened its doors to the world, it aspired to "integrate with the world". With this approach China has been able to access resources critical to its development, from foreign capital and technology to external markets. China joined the WTO in 2001 to help expedite its opening and reform.

Three decades after its opening, China has become a prominent player in the world. In terms of foreign trade of goods, it is now the number one exporter and number two importer of the world. While still absorbing large amount of foreign capitals, China has become a major investor around the world. These render China competence as well as influence in the world.

From integrating into the world by conforming with existing international system, China is now asking for more sway in discourse or it would set to build new international organizations so as to "improve international system". For the past few years China has initiated and succeeded in launching the New Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, while still working on the idea of the SCO Development Bank. China's Belt-and-Road Initiative aims at building infrastructure interconnectedness massively across Eurasian continent, reaching even to Africa. These offer public good to its neighbors and beyond, and boost China's international leadership.

The US is not only worried about China's making new international rules but more concerned about China's possible unwillingness to respect the present regional order, especially in East Asia, where China could be an unsatisfied power. Mainland China shall be unsatisfied with the reality that it has not succeeded in reunifying with Taiwan. It is increasingly intolerant of Japan's dominance of what China terms as Diaoyu Islands. The US sees China's interpretation and behavior in regard to its dashed lines in the South China Sea as a touchstone whether Beijing will be interested in retaining its identity as a status quo power.

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