No particular slur... as long as both are present it's all good.

Your post is of course correct, but I can't help but wonder if China's isolationist habits are more a product of history.

For a country as large and powerful as China, they have been remarkably insular throughout history.
Japan for instance, has made the occasional foray into aggressive policies, but China has remained silent - consider this: in World War two, Russia and Japan played large roles in the conflict... yet China, one of the world's largest nations, remained mute.

Much of this can be chalked up to their way of life. Until recently, China has largely been seen as a country of peasants, however this wasn't the case. Consider ancient history when China was far more advanced than the emerging European powers. Again, there was little interference.

No doubt what you say about precedent and the desire to avoid the spotlight is true... though I suspect it's also a part of the Chinese psyche at large.

I'm somewhat curious as to whether or not this isolationist habit can see them emerge as the new world superpower. Will the US meekly accept their own economic decline?

Whoops. I meant to say this wasn't 'always' the case.

TRTL

China has an interesting history in terms of engagement with the rest of the world. There have certainly been long periods of isolationism. However, there have also been times of engagement with the world at large. From 1405 to 1433 the Chinese navigator Zheng He made 7 voyages to 30 countries in ships over 400 ft long (Columbus' ship was 84ft) http://www.chinapage.com/zhenghe.html. I do agree with though that the overall trend has been towards isolationism - look at the Great Wall!

I've just read Jared Diamond's book "Collapse". He makes the interesting point that Chinese history is characterised by what he calls "lurching" - that is large scale changes of direction. Such events as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution are recent examples, the sudden explorations of Zheng He and the equally sudden cessation of the expeditions is another.

I don't agree with your argument that the Chinese were quiescent during the War. The Japanese ran a war in China from 1937 to 1945, parallel to the Pacific War against the allies. The Chinese Communists and Nationalists were united against the common Japanese enemy, only to resume their conflict with each other after Japanese defeat and withdrawl. I would argue that the perception of Chinese "muteness" is an artefact of a Euro/Americo-centric writing of the history of WW2.

As to American passivity towards their own relative decline; I wouldn't count on it.

There is merit in your suggestion of a western-centric recording of World War two... One of my pet peeves is American war films which give the indication that US action was the be all and end all decider of the war... This ignores the fact that approximately two thirds of the entire german war effort was directed against Russia, with the remainder devoted to Britain and the US.

Similar stories when I hear people trying to tell me Mussolini was a brilliant war general... when Hitler had to bail him out of his petty war with Greece, he cost himself crucial time, and wound up entering Russia late and not reaching Moscow (now abandoned) until winter had set in. Of course, this was a good thing for the west, but Mussolini was supposed to be on Hitler's side at the time... but I digress...

Granted, China has lurched about throughout history, much like the other major superpowers... most of their quarrels have been with their asian neighbours however, which tended to be due to long standing animosities.

Though you are right. Watching the strangely low-key (at present)relationship between China and the US will be fascinating over the next decade.

I'm quite convinced that if China does decide to adopt interventionist foreign policy, Taiwan will be our guinea pig. Should be interesting anyhow.