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John Mearsheimer at UChicago on the topic "Can China Rise Peacefully?". He explains Realism in the first 15 minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/lhNjfRCEPr8

A tour de force of US History, China's Strategic Experience, including the last time they were blockaded by Sea.

Five assumptions about the international system:
Anarchy - There is no Policeman, no overarching Authority to Appeal to. You Win or Your Die.
States inherently possess some offensive military capability, with which they can hurt and possibly destroy each other.
States can never be certain about the intentions of others.
The most basic motive driving states is survival. Ask the Cherokee what happened after they won a Court Case guaranteeing their "Property Rights" in Georgia.
States think strategically about how to survive in the international system (they are instrumentally rational, but may miscalculate when confronted with imperfect information)

These five assumptions create incentives for three main patterns of behavior:
i.States fear each other
ii. Each state aims to guarantee its own survival
iii. States aim to maximize their relative power position over other states

Cooperation is inhibited because of:
i. Relative gains considerations (States are concerned when another state becomes relatively more powerful to them)
ii. Concern about cheating

Trade makes Lovey-Dovey? Don't make me laugh. After neighbors, the next most likely belligerents in a war historically are top trade partners. From 19th Century Britain and China, to 1st Century BC Gaul and the Romans, and all the Greek City States (including between Democracies). Germany was a top trade partner of Britain and the United States around both World Wars.