For two centuries, the Western Alliance and the Chinese vied for control of New Earth through their surrogates in Landing City and Xin Xiang.  They fought not with bullets but with land grabs, resource hoarding, and old-fashioned economic warfare.  Both cities understood that war would be devastating, and signed the Centauri Treaty.  When The War came, they held to the treaty, undoubtedly sparing every city on New Earth a truly brutal War.