Pt. I. Asymmetric international relationships. ch. 1. Recognition, deference, and respect : generalizing the lessons of an asymmetric Asian order. ch. 2. The United States, human rights, and moral autonomy in the post-Cold War world. ch. 3. Dissecting soft power : attention, attraction, persuasion. ch. 4. The dilemma of regional powers. ch. 5. Democratic defeatism : reconsidering the logic of asymmetric wars -- pt. II. Underpinnings of China's foreign policy. ch. 6. China between region and world. ch. 7. Traditional China and the globalization of international relations thinking. ch. 8. Sustainable international leadership : lessons from the Sino-Vietnamese relationship, 968-1885. ch. 9. China as a normative foreign policy actor. ch. 10. Asymmetry theory and China's concept of multipolarity -- pt. III. China and the United States. ch. 11. The brightest house : civilization and asymmetry. ch. 12. The reality and limits of American power. ch. 13. How size matters : the United States, China, and asymmetry. ch. 14. United States and China's rise : parity and the accommodation of civilizations -- pt. IV. China and Asia. ch. 15. Asymmetric triangles and the Washington-Beijing-Taipei relationship. ch. 16. The United States and Sino-Vietnamese relations. ch. 17. Asymmetry and systemic misperception : China, Vietnam, and Cambodia during the 1970s. ch. 18. China and Southeast Asia : asymmetry, leadership, and normalcy. ch. 19. Vietnam and China in an era of economic uncertainty. ch. 20. Korea and Vietnam : similarities and differences in their relationships to China