China\u27s Regional Expansion: Evaluating the Trump Administration\u27s Response

This paper examines relative power relations in Asia between the United States and China while assessing how the United States might approach a potential change in the balance of power of the region. The United States, under President Trump, has enacted numerous policies that target the rise of Chinese power, but most appear to be protectionist measures. These include the application of tariffs on Chinese imported goods, investigations that bypass multilateral institutions on China’s coercive economic behavior and the removal of the United States from Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. This paper uses empirical findings and employs the lens of realism to analyze the implications of the Trump Administration’s policies. The findings display that President Trump’s policies to date are not an effective balance against China’s rising power, and they may potentially lead to a decline of the United States’ power in Asia