Liu argues that the Asian situation is a continuation of a long-term "dialectic." The PRC- US relationship continues the conflict between a "continental power" and a "maritime power" which has persisted since the last century. This most recently took the form of the US-Soviet confrontation, but now, though the US remains in the role of maritime power, communist China has replaced the USSR as its continental rival.
他認為，目前整個的亞洲局勢是「辯證的走向」，中（共）美間的關係是上世紀以來國際社會「陸權」與「海權」對抗的延續，美蘇冷戰的結束並不影響陸、海權間對抗的態勢，只是與海權強國美國對抗的陸權國家，由蘇聯轉變成中共。