The permanent danger of overstretching the country’s internal political structures is unlikely to permit any imperial foreign-policy role. Insofar as this is true, the United States won’t be replaced as the dominant power unless and until it abdicates that role.
但我相信，中国崛起的模式将会有所不同：其政策重心将会较为内向。原因在于中国人口众多，政府——特别是在目前的变革过程中——面对来自强大的内部压力，这确保了中国无暇施行强权外交，美国的霸主地位进而尚可留存，除非它自愿放弃。