First, China’s rising influence is natural. It is a country of 1.3 billion people. Until 1800, it comprised a third of world economic output. China’s rapid growth over the last 30 years reflects a return toward this long-term historical equilibrium. China’s development, as well as that of the rest of Asia, will necessarily alter the preeminent geopolitical position that the United States has enjoyed since the end of the Cold War, and that Western nations have enjoyed since the 19th century. The operational question is not whether we like it or not. It is how we adapt