The 21st century has seen the economic rise of China and the resultant increase in the influence of Chinese leaders on international affairs. The transformation of China into a global superpower in the past two decades has some American officials calling for drastic increases in American military spending to develop new warfighting capabilities against what they see as an emerging threat from an emboldened China. The resultant emerging arms race in what the United States has dubbed a “New Era of Great Power Competition” I argue is counterproductive to the vital security interests of both countries and is—most importantly—not inevitable. The fundamental issues at stake in the emerging arms race are the American pursuit of a national ballistic missile defense system and the reactionary Chinese development of hypersonic and MIRV technologies to counter any potential American advances in ballistic missile defense. Both countries would be better served by ratcheting down arms development as I prove using established political theory and the claims of top American military and political officials.