3. Globalization, Open-up, and the Journey of Major Powers

On September 6, 1899, July 3, 1900, and October 22, 1900, the US circulated three “Open Door Notes” among the major powers of the time. The notes stressed that no power should interfere with any treaty port or any vested interest within any so-called “sphere of interest” or leased territory any other power may have in China; that equal and impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese Empire should be safeguarded; and that all powers should respect China’s territorial integrity and independence. The Open Door Policy, in essence, was the US’s way to protect its basic interests in East Asia by leveraging its strength and status. Maintaining a strategic balance in East Asia would prevent Britain, Japan, or Russia from becoming dominant in the region and provide a cover for the US’s intention of expanding its business interests and influence. The Policy was an early US move to achieve global economic hegemony and to create an independent Asia policy; it also represents an early attempt to create a new regional order in East Asia [11, 12].

For an in-depth analysis of the US’s global strategy and regional strategic deployments, see Ref. [11].

Stavrianos pointed out that even during the centuries of seclusion, the rulers of Japan made efforts to understand Europe's development. The reason Dutch traders were allowed to remain in Japan was that they could serve as a channel for information from the outside world. The bakufu and noble clans advocated learning from foreign militaries and supported schools that taught foreign languages or used foreign textbooks. The Japanese has always been discerning and more responsive in accepting Western culture. Given this background, it is not difficult to understand why when Western powers invaded, the Japanese responded in a way that was completely different from the Chinese [7].

The author divides the US’s rise to hegemony into four consecutive phases: the preparatory phase, consolidation phase, maintenance phase, and expansionary phase. The preparatory phase (founding of US to the end of WWII) saw the US gradually rise to power. In the consolidation phase (end of WWII to the early 1950s), the US spread its strategic deployments globally and in key regions as it sought to construct the core components of its structure of dominance. In the maintenance phase (late 1940s to the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s), the US’s hegemony underwent fluctuations and revealed its many facets, some typical of a competitive major power, others unique. In the current, expansionary phase (the end of the Cold War to the present), the US is changing its hegemonic strategic deployments—an ongoing process that intensified after the September 11th attacks [11].

A review of other countries’ experiences yields the lesson that as China opens up further to the outside world and economic globalization, it must also be adequately mindful of economic security risks arising from an open economy. China must maintain control over sensitive sectors and the supply and storage of key strategic resources (such as energy). It must also devise strategic and policy plans to avoid and diversify risks arising from external dependence and handle contingencies [61].