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PacNet #40 – A ‘new type of great power relations’? Hardly.

Concerned about the ‘inevitability’ of a clash between the world’s sole remaining superpower and a fast rising challenger, China says it seeks a "new type of great power relations." Look closely, however, and China seems to want a very traditional type of great power relationship, one characterized by the familiar notion of spheres of influence. While Beijing doesn’t use that term, its logic and actions lead to that conclusion.