Thus, although China may possibly pursue territorial expansion, it is not necessary for it to do so to gain regional hegemony and could well backfire, as Germany’s taking of Alsace and Lorraine in the peace settlement following the Franco-Prussian War contributed to French hostility under the Third Republic.70 Rather, Beijing’s core demand of any targeted state would more probably be that it disaffiliate from an alliance with the United States, if applicable, and the anti-hegemonic coalition.
