China as a Status Quo or Revisionist Power? Implications for Australia

This article examines what a rising China means for Australia by first addressing the extent to which China acts in a revisionist fashion, and second, discussing responses the previous point might evoke from the US and, to a lesser extent, the East Asian region. It then argues that while management of destabilising issues will at times prove challenging for Australia, there is nevertheless cause for cautious optimism looking into the region's future. Because China does not appear to be a revisionist power despite its ascendant status, the current 'hedged integration' approach preferred by Washington and Canberra remains fundamentally sound.