Why the Hell are we in the “Danger Zone” with China? Hal Brands and Michael Beckley on the growing chance of war with Beijing

Conventional wisdom describes China as a rising power, and
it was. No more: China's economy is slowing, it is headed
into a demographic catastrophe of its own design, it has a
brittle and totalitarian political system, and it feels encircled
by its neighbors. Our guests Hal Brands and Michael
Beckley, authors of the new book Danger Zone: The
Coming Conflict with China, assert that China is not
"rising," but rather that it has "peaked." More troubling
still, judging by the history of peaking powers (Germany pre-WWI,
or Imperial Japan,) the US should be very nervous about
a short-term grab for power or territory by a panicked
Beijing. 


Both Hal Brands and Michael Beckley are scholars at AEI. Hal is a
senior fellow and the Henry A. Kissinger distinguished Professor
of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies, and a columnist at Bloomberg. Michael
Beckley is a non-resident senior fellow, and is an
associate professor at Tufts University.


Download the transcript here.