Cultural Pragmatism for US-China Relations

Breaking the Gridlock and Co-creating Our Future

Charles Chao Rong Phua

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000738582
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The Thucydides trap and a US-China face-off are not structurally inevitable; US-China relations are what the US and China make of them. Phua focuses on the ability to see "US as US" and "China as China" to trigger both countries' cultural tendencies towards pragmatism.

Phua examines China's arduous journey to fit in the Westphalian system, the deep cultural misunderstandings by the West of Sunzi's The Art of War, and attempts to offer an inside-out cultural synthesis of classical and modern Chinese thought as a proxy of their operational code, beyond the standard clichés about Confucian and Daoist thought. He builds on Jervis' perception and misperception as well as Alastair Johnston's cultural realism. Readers will benefit from a culturally-Chinese, western-educated and politically neutral understanding of "China as China".

An essential primer for academics, practitioners and students of international relations, diplomacy and Chinese culture.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsements
• Half-Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction: what is Cultural Pragmatism?
• 1 From trade war to cold war?
• 2 Why does China punch below its weight in international relations theory?
• 3 Sunzi in the US military thinking: A case of cultural misunderstanding
• 4 The origins of Chinese political thought
• 5 Modern Chinese international relations theory
• 6 Separating military and economic leadership in international relations
• 7 Conclusion: a non-zero-sum vision of international relations
• Post-script: Tribute to Robert Jervis
• Index