Robert Sutter has a well-earned reputation for insightful and balanced analyses of US-China relations and Chinese foreign policy and for regularly updating them to incorporate more recent developments. In this latest edition of his classic textbook on China’s foreign relations, the revisions are major, reflecting his assessment that Chinese foreign policy has become far more assertive over the last decade, due in large part to Beijing’s development of new levers of power and influence that have previously been underappreciated and underexamined. This has transformed Beijing’s relations with the rest of the world and changed its relationship with the United States into an acute and global rivalry rather than the cooperative partnership the two countries may once have hoped for.

Harry Harding, University of Virginia

Robert Sutter’s book is the best comprehensive introduction to the background, trends and dynamics, and implications of contemporary Chinese foreign relations available. The book reflects his experience, accumulated expertise, and well-honed judgments over a career-long focus on Beijing’s interactions with the world. It is an indispensable guide to a topic of foremost importance in world affairs today.

Alice Miller, Stanford University

The world’s preeminent senior scholar of contemporary China’s foreign relations has produced the most up-to-date and comprehensive study of the subject available anywhere. Bob Sutter has been studying China for many decades and brings a wealth of knowledge, insight, and firsthand professional experience to this volume. This is a highly readable work that provides incisive analysis and thorough coverage. It will serve as a handy reference book for decision makers, analysts, scholars, and students for years to come.

Andrew Scobell