Countering China's grand narratives

Americans tend to focus more on China's size and strength than its vulnerabilities. In doing so, they play right into Beijing’s hands.

What explains the failure of small Southeast Asian states to support the FOIP as a counter-dominance approach to China? Purely transactional accounts based on material incentives offer only a partial explanation. An equally important factor is China’s use of grand narratives to manipulate and influence the hedging strategies of these countries. The effect of these narratives is to weaken the appetite of Southeast Asian states for a counter-dominance response with respect to China, causing them to make decisions that are detrimental to the interests of the United States and its allies.