> "Until 2009 the credibility of the Peaceful Rise grant strategy was reaffirmed by actual Chinese conduct ... actual Chinese conduct kept faith with these prom

> "Until 2009 the credibility of the Peaceful Rise grant strategy was reaffirmed by actual Chinese conduct ... actual Chinese conduct kept faith with these promises in the years 2005-2008 ... But that is no longer true of course." > Future Historians will certainly try and look back and discover the sequence of events and decisions that led to China’s shift in behavior. Perhaps it was the financial crisis and the feeling that the moment of leapfrogging over a peaked and declining West was finally on the horizon. Perhaps it was an internal squabble amongst political elites or wealthy families. Perhaps leftist-nationalist popular fervor took over and the temptation towards aggressiveness could not be resisted, or that having been compelled by circumstance to issue guarantees now seemed more ‘humiliating’ than crafty. It will be interesting to read what those Historians uncover. The Chinese were very concerned until 2008 that no-one boycotted the Beijing Olympics, which was a very symbolic event for its population regarding China's status in the world. Heck, they even practically dismantled the Great Firewall for a year to make sure there were no excuses for a boycott.