Consultations over the past month with 50 Chinese officials and specialists in Beijing and Shanghai, and with
officials and nongovernment specialists in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and India, help to clarify the importance of Chinese leaders’ emphasis on China’s “peaceful rise” for U.S. interests in Asia. Chinese party, government, and military specialists provide a systematic outline of the purpose and scope of the recent and very moderate Chinese approach to domestic development and foreign policy captured under the heading of “peaceful rise,” though they acknowledge that there remain issues of debate and uncertainty as the process of establishing a firm policy approach remains incomplete.