John Mearsheimer takes a neo-realist viewpoint in his 2010 article on “Australians should fear the rise of China”. The validity of his arguments can be assessed, but, ultimately, a more satisfactory argument can be formulated in refuting his realist perspective; neo-liberal theories, drawn from liberal scholars such as Joseph Nye, uphold the counter argument that Australians should not fear the rise of China.

China has already surpassed the United States as the world’s largest economy, and it will undoubtedly continue to grow and develop; estimates suggest that even if economic growth slows down, China is still likely to develop a high-income economy before 2030 (The World Bank 2013). As a result of its growing economic strength, China has …show more content…
China has acted largely peacefully, at least externally, for most of the past 36 years - the brief 1978 border dispute with Vietnam being the last war China was engaged in (ISN Security Watch, 2013). It is this peaceful behaviour that has allowed it to strengthen and build mutual trust in international relations, as well as participate in international organisations and treaties, for example, the World Trade Organisation which China joined in 2001. Mearsheimer (2010) contends that past actions, even if they have been peaceful, are not a reliable gauge to predict future behaviour. Whilst past behaviour is by no means a perfect way to predict a country’s future actions, it does hold some weight. Countries ultimately do consider history in determining how severe a particular threat is to national interests and thus it would be foolish to render past behaviour redundant. Following this logic, given the progress China has made in the past two decades since opening its economy to the world, it simply would not make sense for China, now or in the future, to put all this at risk and engage in hostility and