On November 4, 2021, the School of Politics and International Relations of Lanzhou University successfully held the 47th edition of the "Zongheng"reading club for undergraduates, the theme of which was "The Logic of Strategic Behavior of Hegemonic and Rising Powers". Due to the COVID-19, the reading club was held online. Students from the Class of 2019, Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 of the School of Politics and International Relations of Lanzhou University attended the reading.

This issue of the reading club focuses on how rising powers seek international support, the main mechanisms of power competition between hegemonic and rising powers in the era of no war between major powers, and a typological exploration of hegemonic powers' strategies for responding to rising powers. The readers express their views and discuss issues such as the definition of hegemonic and rising powers, the strategic choices of hegemonic powers for responding to rising powers, the responses of rising powers, and China-US relations.

The students generally agreed that it is inaccurate to simply define China as a challenging power, that it is doubtful whether there is a Thucydides trap in China-US relations, and that China-US relations should not simply be seen as a relationship between a challenging power and a hegemonic power, but should fully recognize the complexity of China-US relations and avoid entering the logic of realism.

Undergraduates' Reading Club is an academic activity carried out by students with the support of the faculty leaders and teachers, and has been successfully held for 47 sessions. The aim of the reading club is to stimulate students' interest in international politics, improve their reading ability and awareness of the issues, which has had a great impact on students in our college.