Chinese national interests and cyber capabilities: A 'red team' future

The economic, political and military rise of China poses the classic dilemma of how to accommodate an emerging power within an existing international order. In November 2011, President Obama implicitly recognised this dilemma when he welcomed the role that a 'peaceful and prosperous China' could play - as long as it met US expectations regarding fair trade, human rights, the rule of law, freedom of navigation, and democratic principles. Underlying this conditional welcome is a US suspicion that China does not share a commitment to those principles and only conforms to international norms when it suits its national interests. US perceptions of Chinese cyber espionage and other activities resonate with this suspicion.