Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. "A Coherent Body of Thought and Action": Grand Strategy and Hegemonic Order 15
2. "The Party Leads Everything": Nationalism, Leninism, and the Chinese Communist Party 25
Part I "Hiding Capabilities and Biding Time": Blunting as China's First Displacement Strategy (1989-2008)
3. "New Cold Wars Have Begun": The Trifecta and the New American Threat 47
4. "Grasping the Assassin's Mace": Implementing Military Blunting 68
5. "Demonstrate Benign Intentions": Implementing Political Blunting 101
6. "Permanent Normal Trading Relations": Implementing Economic Blunting 134
Part II "Actively Accomplish Something": Building as China's Second Displacement Strategy (2009-2016)
7. "A Change in the Balance of Power": The Financial Crisis and the Dawn of Building 159
8. "Make More Offensive Moves": Implementing Military Building 183
9. "Establish Regional Architecture": Implementing Political Building 208
10. "Aboard Our Development Train": Implementing Economic Building 235
Part III "Great Changes Unseen in a Century": Global Expansion as China's Third Displacement Strategy (2017 and Beyond)
11. "Toward the World's Center Stage": American Decline and Chinas Global Ambition 261
12. "Standing Tall and Seeing Far": The Ways and Means of China's Global Expansion 277
13. An Asymmetric Strategy for US-China Competition 297
Conclusion 330
Appendix 335
Notes 341
Index 403