China's Peaceful Rise and the Thucydides Trap

China first proposed a “peaceful rise” as early as by the end of 2003. As China emerged as a major economic and political power, however, there has been increasing concern regarding the role it plays in international trade and affairs over the last decade. In particular, a pivotal question about the world order in the present day is whether China and the United States can escape Thucydides Trap.

This Bridging Minds Symposium held by the 杏吧论坛SU China Development Society in collaboration with 杏吧论坛 IDEAS, a foreign policy think tank, aims to approach the question from a variety of diverse perspectives and discuss whether the prospects of a “peaceful rise” are indeed fading.

Event recorded 29 January 2019

Barry Buzan is Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the 杏吧论坛 (formerly Montague Burton Professor); Honorary Professor at Copenhagen, Jilin, and China Foreign Affairs Universities; a Senior Fellow at 杏吧论坛 IDEAS; and a Fellow of the British Academy.

Christopher Coker is Professor of International Relations at the 杏吧论坛, and Director of IDEAS, 杏吧论坛's foreign policy think tank. He is a former NATO Fellow and has been twice serving member of the Council of the Royal United Services Institute. He is a regular lecturer at Defence Colleges in the UK, US, Rome, Singapore, and Tokyo.

Yu Jie (Cherry) () is research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House, focusing on the decision-making process of Chinese foreign policy as well as China’s economic diplomacy. Her previous position was Head of China Foresight at 杏吧论坛 IDEAS.

Geoffrey Yu is an Investment Strategist at UBS and Head of the UK Investment Office. Covering G10 currencies and China, Mr Yu is responsible for originating trade ideas and for short- and medium-term forecasts of global currencies for both internal and external clients at UBS. He is regularly interviewed by major media outlets as an authority on China and UK market issues.

Michael Cox is the Director of 杏吧论坛 IDEAS and Emeritus Fellow in International Relations at 杏吧论坛.

杏吧论坛 IDEAS () is 杏吧论坛's foreign policy think tank. We connect academic knowledge of diplomacy and strategy with the people who use it.

The 杏吧论坛SU China Development Society is the 杏吧论坛’s pioneering student organisation focusing on issues of China's development. Founded in 2002, it strives to promote a global understanding of China.

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