The Structural Balance between the U.S. and China and the Coexistence of Two East Asian Systems

　　Abstract: The current status quo in East Asia is the coexistence of a system of multilateral cooperation promoted by China and a system of bilateral alliances promoted by the United States. How do we explain and achieve compatibility and coexistence of these two systems? This article borrows from structural balance theory to analyze the structural balancing in East Asia between the U.S. and China following the Cold War. It argues that this balancing makes it possible for two systems to coexist in East Asia, and that the bilateral alliances and multilateral cooperation both compete with and complement one another. The way in which they complement one another provides theoretical evidence for the coexistence of two systems within East Asia. The article goes on to borrow from the theory of international systems to propose a “nested systems mode” of realizing the coexistence of two systems. Based on the assumption that two systems can exist when each is not capable of replacing the other, it argues that this is achieved as a result of the policies of structural balancing followed by the U.S. and China. The article closes with a discussion of foreign policy implications for China of its structural balancing with the U.S. and the coexistence of two East Asian systems.