Pt. 1. Assessing China's capabilities and intentions. Great expectations: interpreting China's arrival / Avery Goldstein ; Legitimacy and the limits of nationalism: China and the Diaoyu Islands / Erica Strecker Downs and Phillip C. Saunders ; China's search for a modern air force / John Wilson Lewis and Xue Litai ; China's military views the world: ambivalent security / David Shambaugh -- Pt. 2. China and Asia-Pacific security. China, the U.S.-Japan alliance, and the security dilemma in East Asia / Thomas J. Christensen ; The geography of the peace: East Asia in the twenty-first century / Robert S. Ross -- Pt. 3. Choices for policy toward China. Containment or engagement of China? calculating Beijing's responses / David Shambaugh ; East Asia and the "constrainment" of China / Gerald Segal.