Book Forum 

# *China’s Gambit: The Calculus of Coercion*

Published By Cambridge University Press • 2023 

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Date and Time 

March 1, 2024 12 - 1 PM EST 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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##### Featuring 

![Ketian Zhang - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-01/Ketian-Zhang.jpg?itok=1duNAkoo) 

Ketian Zhang 

Assistant Professor of International Security, George Mason University

[ 

](https://twitter.com/VivianChang36) 

![Jude Blanchette - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-01/Jude-Blanchette.jpg?itok=6l8RWiD1) 

Jude Blanchette 

Freeman Chair in China Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies

[![Eric Gomez-cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-08/eric-gomez-cropped.jpg?itok=lFY_NkC8)](/people/eric-gomez) 

[Eric Gomez](/people/eric-gomez)

Senior Fellow, Defense and Foreign Policy, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/EricGomezAsia) [ 

](mailto:egomez@cato.org) 

The rise of China has led to concerns about its use of military threats to coerce other nations. Emerging from an award-winning article in the journal *International Security,* *China’s Gambit* examines when, why, and how China attempts to coerce states over perceived threats to its national security. Author Ketian Zhang demonstrates that while China has used coercion for territorial disputes and issues related to Taiwan and Tibet, it is curiously selective in the timing, target, and tools of coercion. Join us for a discussion with a **luncheon to follow**.

![chinasgambit-thecalculus-cover.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block_book_cover_1x/public/2024-01/chinasgambit-thecalculus-cover.jpg?itok=0Xdlhvij) 

##### Featured Book 

### *[China’s Gambit: The Calculus of Coercion ](https://www.amazon.com/Chinas-Gambit-Calculus-Ketian-Zhang/dp/1009423789?tag=catoinstitute-20)*

Emerging from an award-winning article in International Security, China’s Gambit examines when, why, and how China attempts to coerce states over perceived threats to its national security. Since 1990, China has used coercion for territorial disputes and issues related to Taiwan and Tibet, yet China is curiously selective in the timing, target, and tools of coercion. This book offers a new and generalizable cost-balancing theory to explain states’ coercion decisions.

[Purchase Book](https://www.amazon.com/Chinas-Gambit-Calculus-Ketian-Zhang/dp/1009423789?tag=catoinstitute-20) 

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