The China Power Project invites you to attend our sixth annual conference “China’s Power: Up for Debate.” This year, the conference will be held as a series of five live online debates. The second debate will take place on November 22 and will feature two experts debating the following proposition: “China’s growing assertiveness is mainly driven by a sense of insecurity and perceived threats.”
China’s approach to foreign policy has become increasingly assertive in recent years. Beijing has significantly ratcheted up pressure on its neighbors, including employing gray zone tactics to assert its claims in the South China Sea, escalating border disputes with India, and sending hundreds of military aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Globally, Chinese diplomats have used increasingly aggressive tactics to advance Beijing’s interests. Some experts argue these activities reflect a growing sense of confidence among Chinese leaders, while others believe China’s growing assertiveness is a symptom of insecurity and perceived threats, driven by the Chinese Communist Party’s quest for domestic security and legitimacy.
Dr. Michael Swaine, Director of the Quincy Institute’s East Asia Program, will argue that China’s assertiveness is mainly driven by a sense of insecurity and perceived threats. Dr. Evan Medeiros, Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, will argue that China’s assertiveness is not mainly driven by a sense of insecurity and perceived threats.
Each debate features pre- and post-event polls. For more information and to cast your vote for or against a proposition, follow @ChinaPowerCSIS on Twitter.
This event is made possible by the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
FEATURING
Director, East Asia Program, Quincy Institute
Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
CSIS EXPERTS
Director, China Power Project and Senior Fellow, Asian Security