<B>The defining geopolitical contest of the twenty-first century is between China and the US. But is it avoidable? And if it happens, is the outcome already inevitable?</B><DIV><br></DIV><DIV>China and America are world powers without serious rivals. They eye each other warily across the Pacific; they communicate poorly; there seems little natural empathy. A massive geopolitical contest has begun.</DIV><DIV><br></DIV><DIV>America prizes freedom; China values freedom from chaos.</DIV><DIV>America values strategic decisiveness; China values patience.</DIV><DIV>America is becoming society of lasting inequality; China a meritocracy.</DIV><DIV>America has abandoned multilateralism; China welcomes it.</DIV><DIV><br></DIV><DIV>Kishore Mahbubani, a diplomat and scholar with unrivalled access to policymakers in Beijing and Washington, has written the definitive guide to the deep fault lines in the relationship, a clear-eyed assessment of the risk of any confrontation, and a bracingly honest app