Following President Nixon’s visit to China, Western optimism about China’s economic integration as a pathway to democratic alignment proved misguided, as theorists like John Mearsheimer warned of strategic risks posed by a rising power. Deng Xiaoping’s leadership after Mao Zedong catalyzed China’s transformation into a global economic powerhouse, but Western perceptions of inevitable democratization were shortsighted, especially post-Cold War, leading to a fundamental miscalculation in foreign policy.
