Cover; Copyright; Contents; Preface; 1. Introduction: knowledge, desire and power in Western representations of China's rise; 2. Threat and opportunity: a bifocal lens; 3. Of fears and fantasies: neocolonial desire in Western self/Other imagination; 4. The 'China threat' and the political economy of fear; 5. The 'China threat': a self-fulfilling prophecy; 6. The 'China opportunity': false promises (and premises); 7. The international politics of disillusionment; 8. China watching: towards reflection and dialogue; Notes; Bibliography; Index
Summary
How is the rise of China perceived in the West? Why is it often labelled as 'threat' and/or 'opportunity'? What are the implications of these China imageries for global politics? Taking up these important questions, this ground-breaking book argues that the dominant Western perceptions of China's rise tell us less about China and more about Western self-imagination and its desire for certainty. Then Chengxin Pan expertly illustrates how this desire, masked as China 'knowledge', is bound up with the political economy of fears and fantasies, thereby both informing and complicating foreign policy
