Securitizing China: Exploring the Construction of Threat Perception in U.S. – China Relations My dissertation explores American lawmakers’ attempts to depict China as a threat to U.S. security over the past decade. This process is known as securitization. My research aims to identify the main actors and how/why securitization happens over time. The first phase of my study involves conducting a qualitative discourse analysis of policymaking dialogue on national security issues relating to China in formal U.S. congressional settings between 2013 and 2022. The second phase of my dissertation involves testing hypotheses to explore the rationalistic motivations for securitizing U.S.–China relations from political, economic, and social perspectives.