The United States and China have experienced many changes in their relations in the past 30 years. Some international security experts posit that the most profound one has begun-an apparent power transition between the two nations. This potentially titanic change, it is argued, was set in motion by Chi¬na's genuine and phenomenal economic development over the past decade, or so. Clearly, China's impact on the United States and the U.S.-led international sys¬tem has been growing steadily.Historically, most great power transitions were consummated by war. Can China and the United States avoid a deadly contest and spare the world another catastrophe? The good news is that the two nations expressed goodwill in the mid-2000s, with China's promise of peaceful development and the U.S. call for China to become a responsible stakeholder in the ex¬tant international system. The bad news is that China and the United States still have many unsettled issues, some of which directly involve the two nations' core interests and others indirectly entangled with China's neighbors. Those issues can lead to the two nations stumbling into unintended clashes, hence triggering a repeat of the great power tragedies of the past.Some scholars predict that over the next 30 years and beyond, this apparent power transition process will continue to be a defining factor in the U.S.-China relationship. What can we expect from China and the United States with respect to the future of inter¬national relations? As China's economic, political, cultural, and military influences continue to grow globally, what kind of a global power will China be¬come? What kind of a relationship will China develop with the United States? How does the United States maintain its leadership in world affairs and develop a working relationship with China that encourages it to join hands with the United States to shape the world in constructive ways?In this monograph, Dr. David Lai offers an en¬gaging discussion of these questions and others. His analysis addresses issues that trouble U.S. as well as Chinese leaders. Dr. Lai has taken painstaking care to put the conflicting positions in perspective, most no¬tably presenting the origins of the conflicts, highlight¬ing the conflicting parties' key opposing positions (by citing their primary or original sources), and point¬ing out the stalemates. His intent is to remind U.S., as well as Chinese, leaders of the complicated nature of U.S.-China relations, during a power transition and to encourage them to look at the existing conflicts in this new light. He also intends for the analysis to help the two nations' leaders look beyond their parochial positions and take constructive measures to manage this complicated process-one that will affect future international relations in seminal ways.The Strategic Studies Institute is pleased to offer this monograph as a contribution to the discussion of this important issue.