China is growing increasingly assertive in its foreign policy, especially in the way it handles the U.S., because officials there believe that China is on the rise while America is in the midst of a steady decline.

“They believe that the recession of 2008 represented a shift in the balance of world power, and that China should be less deferential to a declining United States,” Joseph S. Nye Jr. of The Los Angeles Times writes.

“This overconfident power assessment has contributed to a more assertive Chinese foreign policy in the last two years. The shift in perceptions seems to have emboldened the Chinese government, even though the judgment is wrong.”

China has been filing more and more cases against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization. They have also been building up their military and becoming more involved in geopolitics.

China’s president’s “stated desire to cooperate on terrorism, nonproliferation and clean energy should help reduce tensions, but powerful domestic interest groups in export industries and the People’s Liberation Army want to limit economic and military cooperation,” Nye writes.

“And most important, given the increasing nationalism of the Chinese people that one sees on display in the blogosphere, it will be difficult for top Chinese leaders to change their policies dramatically.”

Nye, however, believes that Chinese officials are overplaying their hand. Despite the fact that China is expected to pass the U.S. as the world’s largest economy in the next two decade, there are no guarantees. Plus, even if China does surpass the U.S. the country will still be years behind the U.S. in terms of technology and other key metrics.

“Given that China and the United States face global challenges such as financial stability, cyber security and climate change, the two countries have much to gain from working together,” Nye writes.

“Unfortunately, faulty power assessments have created hubris among some Chinese, and unnecessary fear of decline among some Americans, and these shifts in perception make cooperation difficult. Any American compromise is read in Beijing as confirmation of American weakness.”

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