As China continues rapidly to develop, the question remains, ‘Is it possible for China to rise peacefully?’ It is generally agreed that China’s rise from 1979 to the present has been quite successful, but there is still worry, or at least widespread uncertainty, about its peaceful rise. Realists argue that a rising power will sooner or later challenge the hegemon and the existing international order, probably through violent, systemic war. Liberals worry about China’s political system and ideology. Although they believe that international institutions permeated with liberal ideas and norms will greatly incorporate China and constrain its behavior, uncertainty nonetheless exists owing to the anarchical nature of the international system, the limitations of international institutions, and China’s domestic political and socio-economic processes. The English School, with its key concept of international society, has similar concerns from a different angle. They are more about identity, i.e.
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Qin Yaqing (2010) studied this question.