This simplistic view, however, forgets even our own history, as well as the history of other rising states. The rise to superpowerdom in the U.S. in the 1940s and 1950s was accompanied by sharp growth in economic and military power. Each fueled the other. We forget this because as a status quo power we want to freeze a global order that benefits us. We'd much rather hold to the belief that new powers will be only too happy to continue to be led by a Western club whose historical record of treating non-Westerners has left a grudge we'd also rather forget.
China has no intention of forgetting the past.
Indeed, its own complicity in its downfall as a great power makes it useful to blame others. China faced famine repeatedly not because of its enormous population but because of the actions of its leaders. Turning this painful history into a positive asset by stoking smoldering resentments and nationalism can be an effective way for China to get more from negotiations with Washington than it otherwise would. It can also hold the country together as the Communist Party crumbles. Another challenge to America is a military one.