1st Edition

China’s Strategic Adaptation and the Limits of US Engagement

By Yue Lu Copyright 2026
240 Pages 24 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

240 Pages 24 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Lu examines the conditions under which China could be integrated into the US-led liberal international order through US engagement policies. This analysis operates within the broader framework of a hegemon's deliberate strategy to incorporate a rising great power into its established order and to shape the rising power’s foreign policy—a frequently overlooked dimension of China's relationship... Read more

1. Introduction: Studying China’s Socialization in Retrospect

2. One Engagement, Two Different Dreams: The American Engagement Wager and Chinese Perceptions

3. US–China Engagement on Global Climate Governance: Successful Socialization through Engagement?

4. US–China Engagement on IPRs: Successful Socialization through Engagement?

5. US–China Engagement on the SCS Disputes: An Impossible Case for Socialization?

6. Conclusion: Beyond the “Responsible Stakeholder” Framework

Appendix

Biography

Yue Lu is a postdoctoral fellow at the City University of Hong Kong.