China Is Going to Become the Next Superpower - Assignment Example

 China is going to become the Next Superpower Introduction Since the end of the Cold War, very few had expected that the superpowers of the future will rise from Asia. However, when one undertakes a thorough analysis of the varied socio-economic, cultural and military attributes that go into the rise of a superpower, China no doubt emerges as a prospective candidate to be a superpower of the future. Before embarking a discussion specifically in a China-centric context, it will be really pragmatic to delineate the salient characteristics of a superpower. First and foremost, a superpower always has a robust and stable economy that is sufficient enough to churn out the resources for its fast expanding ambitions. A superpower is also backed by a strong army, navy and air force that could well do the job of projecting it as a power throughout the world. A superpower also needs to have a strong and well developed culture that is worthy of extending the requisite philosophical and ideological influences, that well demark and define the approach and strategy of that superpower. Geography can certainly play role in consolidating and encouraging the superpower status of a country, as it did in the case of the erstwhile USSR and the USA. A country that has vast sea and land area under its control is mostly not only endowed with abundant and rich natural resources, but does also enjoy a distinct tactical advantage in the case of a war. If one takes into consider the contemporary economic and military power of China and the other related attributes like culture, geography and the like, no doubt China qualifies to be an ideal candidate for becoming the superpower of the future (Mahtaney 7). China- Early Reverberations If one takes into consideration the several recent events pertaining to China, there is scarcely left any doubt as to not only that China could be deemed to be a superpower of the future, but also that China actually aspires to do so. In 2003 China sent its first man in space, a feat hitherto achieved by only the United States and the erstwhile Soviet Union. One also needs to keep an eye over China’s recent hunger for natural resources. China is doing its best to gain an access to the oil and mineral wealth located in Latin America, the Middle East and in Africa (Mahtaney 102). Also, not only the Chinese goods are flooding the Western markets, but rather China has emerged as a manufacturing hub for the entire world. China also has embarked on an ambitious plan to modernize its military. It goes without saying that in the recent times, China’s sway in the world affairs has increased over time and China is doing its best to gain a strategic edge not only over its rivals in Asia, but also over the Western powers (Mahtaney 4). All these facts constitute a good reason as to why China is poised to achieve a superpower status in the future. China’s Economy In the last three decades, China’s economic growth has been quiet impressive and the nation does seem to have the potential to sustain this growth in the times to come. Simply speaking, China has one big population that not only serves the purpose of creating a big and lucrative domestic market, but also extends to China a ready access to cost affective and affordable labor. Not to mention that China is a country endowed with ample natural resources and big sea and land area, which further contribute to and facilitate its economic growth. It was Deng Xiaoping who introduced economic reforms in China in the late 70s. Since the introduction of these reforms, the Chinese economy has developed spectacularly. In the period 1979-1993, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of China registered an average growth rate of 9.3 percent (Cass, Williams & Barker 91). It was indeed a great achievement, going by the fact that in the same time period, the average growth rate of the entire world stood at 2.6 percent (Cass, Williams & Barker 91). To put it in simple words, in the 15 years under consideration, the Chinese GDP grew by four times. Also, on the world stage, China has emerged as a major trading nation having at its disposal, impressive foreign currency reserves. A proactive approach on the part of China in the area of economic interactions has attracted ample attention from both the existing and emerging economic powers. China is not only actively foraging into world markets to secure a long term access to oil and natural gas, but China’s imports of oil and natural gas have exponentially increased in the last three decades (Cass, Williams & Barker 99). No doubt, China has emerged as a potent player in the world economy, and the contemporary China is a doughty competitor for natural resources and world markets. China’s Military Power It is a known fact that since 1985, China has been persistent and dedicated in its efforts towards modernizing its military might. Of course, it is a known fact that China also happens to be a nuclear power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. With each successive year, China’s budgetary allocations towards defense have been increasing immensely (Ji 29). China has also been at the forefront of developing new generation strategic and tactical missiles (Ji 52). PRC also has been putting in tremendous efforts towards modernizing its navy and air force. It goes without saying that much of the Chinese efforts towards modernizing its military are centered on well defined and meditated upon priorities. China is located in a heavily militarized part of the world and has standing territorial disputes with some of the most resilient economies like India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (Chung 1). So eventually China aims at mustering a credible military power to secure a quick and decisive victory in case of any conflicts arising owing to these unresolved territorial disputes (Chung 3). China also intends to fortify its green water naval capacity to defend and protect its coastal provinces that constitute the backbone of its fast expanding economy (Ji 165). China is also positively looking forward towards developing aircraft carriers to bolster its naval power projection (Ji 126). China has not only drawn long lasting lessons from the Gulf War but has already initiated the steps required to wage a successful and decisive war in case of such a conflict (Yee & Storey 48). The Chinese not only well studied the Gulf War, but also altered and realigned their military leadership in consonance with the lessons learnt from this conflict (Yee & Storey 316). The modern China is at present focusing on creating new strategies and technologies aimed at engaging in and winning the modern warfare. The current Chinese military efforts are aimed at developing an air and naval superiority in case of a conflict and in assuring a rapid deployment of troops in the selected theatre of war. One can assume that the Chinese military preparation may not be as sophisticated and modernized as that of the US. Yet, very few will disagree with the fact that China has gathered enough military potential to make any nation rethink before engaging in any form of armed conflict with this dragon. China as an International Political Power China’s political influence in the world politics has increased immensely in the last three decades. Though during the first two decades of its conception, the People’s Republic of China was treated as a pariah, with its entry into the United Nations in 1971, China has been increasingly using its diplomatic influence and its access to the world economy to leverage its national interests (Economy & Oksenberg 44). With the transformation of China’s economy and its recognition as one of the biggest markets in the world, China’s prestige as a world power has received a tremendous boost (Economy & Oksenberg 161). Of late, Beijing has been actively supporting and disseminating the doctrine of a multi-polar world and has been forging strategic partnerships with other military and economic powers to restrain and limit the American hegemony. Not to mention that China’s attitude towards dissent and human rights violations has been a great damper in its goal of wielding an effective soft power status in the international community (Economy & Oksenberg 136). Yet, it also needs to be taken into consideration that going by China’s economic status, there seldom is any Western power that has dared to come out vociferously against China’s human rights violations. Besides, it is also a fact that many of the Western powers tend to use the human rights issue to counteract China’s economic and political influence. Conclusion If one takes into consideration all the salient attributes of a superpower and correlate them with the contemporary China’s economic, military and political status, one is left with very little to challenge China’s status as a superpower of the future. The post reforms economy, its military modernization and political clout are definitely taking it towards a superpower status. China has definitely succeeded in achieving the status of a great power that could be considered to be at par with the Russia, UK and Japan. The stature and power of China are slowly and steadily augmenting so as to enable it to play a pivotal role at a global level. Works Cited Cass, Deborah Z, Williams, Brett G & Barker, George. China and the World Trading System. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Chung, Chien Pang. Domestic Politics, International Bargaining and China’s Territorial Disputes. New York: Routledge, 2004. Economy, Elizabeth & Oksenberg, Michel (Eds.). China Joins the World. New York: Council of Foreign Relations Press, 1999. Ji, You. The Armed Forces of China. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1999. Mahtaney, Piya. India, China & Globalization: The Emerging Superpowers and the Future of Globalization. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Yee, Herbert & Storey, Ian. The China Threat. New York: Routledge, 2002. Read More