Transition of China to superpower.

Will
China leaves its BRIC status?
China has as of late captured worldwide consideration due to its economy’s
victory and apparently unending development period. China has gone from
being a country that's totally confined to speaking to one of the biggest
world economies. China’s GDP in 2011 was developing at around 11%
annually, in 2018 at around 6.8% annually, and around 8.1%in 2021. Thus,
this has caused theory as to whether or not this economic growth could be
a solid sufficient figure to move China to a superpower position, a country
that holds a sense of control and impact universally, inside the universal
framework.
  

History of China:
The history of China is both captivating and complex. Its culture has been
portrayed as both quiet and warlike. China was made by victory and has
been ruled by an arrangement of warlords. In any case, China has too
experienced periods of peace and dynamic exchange with its neighbors.
There have too been broad periods where China separated itself from
exterior impact and got to be a closed society. These encounters have
significantly molded Chinese culture and key thought. The final century has
been amazingly troublesome for China. The occupation by the Japanese in
the 1930s and 1940s and the respectful war, which brought Mao Zedong
and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to control in 1949, were
amazingly turbulent times in China's history. From this gracious war, the
People's Republic of China (PRC) rose. However, this was the start of
another period of segregation where China endeavored to revitalize itself.
Under Mao, China was successful in getting to be self-sufficient in all
assets and innovations; in any case, it was twenty to thirty years behind
modern technical standards. Following Mao's passing in 1976, the modern
pioneer, Deng Xiaoping, commenced an arrangement of changes that
drastically changed China. Deng empowered universal exchange and
permitted outside capital ventures. The result has been China's marvelous
passage into world markets and a booming economy. The particular point
of these approaches was to get huge outside trade profit, which would
permit China to both modernize and become independent.

What is a superpower?
A superpower may be a state that has military or financial might or both,
and a common impact unfathomably superior to that of other states, it may
be a state that cannot be overlooked in the world arrange, and without its
participation, no world issue can be fathomed.

What does BRIC means?

BRIC is a gathering acronym that alludes to the nations of Brazil, Russia,
India, and China considered to be creating nations at a comparable stage
of recently progressed financial improvement, on their way to becoming
created nations. It is ordinarily rendered as "the BRIC," "the BRIC nations,"
"the BRIC economies," or then again as the "Big Four". The title has since
been changed to BRICS after the expansion of South Africa in 2010.

Developing Superpower
The primary school of thought holds that China has as of now become a
worldwide superpower, but as it were in terms of its economy. Concurring
to Arvind Subramanian, China has already illustrated its part as a
worldwide superpower in the worldwide organization. Subramanian
depends on statistical data and projections to form his contention that
China is “already working out shapes of dominance,” in terms of military
and worldwide economics. In this work, Subramanian talks about how
China’s financial development over the final has put it on a track to
“inevitably” gotten to be a world superpower.
For instance, by 2011, China’s economic growth alone combated that of
the United States with China’s economy growing at an 11% increase yearly
and the US’s holding at 2.5% yearly.

Regional Power
The second conviction on China’s current universal status is that China isn't
reaching to end up a superpower, and thus, will never have the opportunity
to move polarity. The collective basis among researchers that have this
view is that China is still considered to be too destitute to get to be a
superpower. Indeed with China’s later financial victory, it is still decades
absent from catching up with the United States in terms of the economy.
Furthermore, these researchers hold that China’s financial development
rates have a maxim of as it were 6.8% and will inevitably implode, and
besides, China’s development rate is as well unsteady and eccentric to
proceed at its current rate. Concurring to Sara Hsu, “growth is abating, and
financial wasteful aspects proliferate, as the change of the administration's
the division has been fantastically slow”. Moreover, China does not have
the same support that the United States does globally. Whereas they do
have a solid toehold among Asian nations, Western nations do not provide
them the same regard or esteem for China that they put on the United
States. Agreeing to this viewpoint, China will be incapable to claim its spot
as a superpower without the backing of the Western world.

Developing Superpower
The ultimate common conviction on China’s part on the worldwide stage is
that China will get to be a superpower, but it has not however done so.
These researchers accept that within the following 10-15 years China will
be a worldwide superpower sharing this status nearby the United States in
a bipolar framework. Concurring to this perspective, analyzing the political
and financial progressions China has made over the final few decades
“suggests that China will procure power prevalence over the USA within the
following half-century.” It is already clear that China is on the right path
economically; in addition, it just must proceed to have an upward trending
GDP, obtain control equality, and increment in exchange. Besides, China is
turning its consideration to creating its military and weapons to combat the
United States which still controls these sectors globally. The greatest risk to
halting China from its natural rising to superpower status is “a declining and
maturing population” which would slow down its endeavors to extend
economically. In addition, China has made significant efforts to end up
more included in worldwide organizations such as the United Nations.
Moreover, it has started entering exchange bargains and agreements with
other countries, which has been useful in terms of expanding China’s
sense of control and impact on the rest of the world. Without any significant
changes to China’s current circumstance, it'll proceed to rise and inevitably,
outperform or gotten to be comparable to the United States, making it
either a bipolar superpower with the United States or a unipolar
superpower where China is the sole dominant power.

Chinese Reforms:
China has been reforming in various fields since the last few decades and
these reforms are actually placing it in the track of becoming a superpower.

 ECONOMIC REFORMS
Deng Xiaoping took over control of the Communist Party of China
(CPC) in 1978. He was mindful of starting reform of the planned
economy to move towards a more market-oriented economy. In a
sense, the alter in approach can be translated somewhat as a
continuation of the ‘four modernizations’ (of agriculture, industry,
defense, and science and technology) declared by head Zhou Enlai
in 1964, but hindered by the Cultural Revolution.

There were four reasons the time was ripe for reform:

 First, the Cultural Revolution was exceptionally disliked, and the

party and the government had to remove themselves from the old
regime and make changes to win the support of the individuals.
 Second, after a long time of encounters in economic planning,
government authorities caught on to the inadequacies of the planned
framework and the requirements for alteration.
 Third, effective economic advancement in other parts of Asia—
including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea, known
as the ‘Four Tigers’—demonstrated to Chinese government
authorities and Chinese individuals that a market economy works way
better than a planned one. This lesson was strengthened by the
distinctive rates of economic development in North and South Korea,
and among nations in Eastern and Western Europe.
 Fourth, for the reasons expressed over, the Chinese individuals
were prepared for and ready to support, economic reform.
The first two reasons alone were adequate to persuade the government to
initiate reform. The criticalness of the case was such that it had to happen
as soon as the political leadership was ready after Chairman Mao Zedong’s
passing. The Chinese economic reforms of 1978 are occasions of the
plausibility of anticipating major social alter by analyzing the prevailing
conditions. The part of the central government has been a progressive and
experimental one and has proceeded in steps.

Agriculture:
Reform of Chinese farming under the commune framework first happened
in 1978 and 1979, when commune pioneers in a few locales found through
cases initiated by farmers that they might fulfill their yield shares by
reorganizing the commune inside. In essence, each farm household has
doled out a piece of land and was held responsible for conveying a given
quantity of an indicated item so the commune might fulfill its procurement
requirement. After satisfying the conveyance quantity, the farm household
was free to keep the remaining output for utilization or sale with the market.
This ‘household duty system’ (HRS) has the economic characteristics of
private cultivating in a market economy. It summed to each farm household
renting a bit of land and paying a settled lease within the shape of the
output quantity.
The Fourth Plenum of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist
Party (CCCP) formally adopted the HRS in September 1979. The
subsequent rapid increments in rural yield and farmers’ earnings provided
support for this system. After 1978, country markets started to revive.
Farmers were permitted to raise pigs, chickens, and ducks, the cultivation
of which had been prohibited during the Cultural Revolution as capitalist
activities. They moreover locked in sideline exercises such as
craftsmanship generation that was already the protection of the communes.
China’s cultivated economy in quintessence returned to the private
economy that had existed within the early 1950s sometime recently the
organization of cooperatives and the foundation of communes. One
difference pertained to the ownership of land. Strictly speaking, ownership
of land was and still is collective; it belongs to the commune or the village.
The right of use belongs to the farmer who is assigned the land. Eventually,
the right to use assigned land was guaranteed on a permanent basis and
became transferable—hence, the difference between this right to use and
ownership is moot. Reform therefore succeeded in allowing private farming
to return to the agricultural sector.
During the first six years of reform (1978–84), the annual growth rate of the
gross value of agricultural output nearly tripled, to 7.1 per cent.

Enterprises
Enterprises are the moment's imperative production unit. The Chinese
People’s Congress embraced elements of reform for state enterprises in
September 1980. At the opening of that session, vice-premier Yao Yilin,
chairman of the State Arranging Commission, declared that experiments
giving state ventures more independence and market competition would be
significantly extended. The mechanical change started in late 1978 with six
pilot ventures in the Sichuan area; by the conclusion of 1981, some 80
percent of state-owned industrial endeavors were included in the reform
experiment. The major elements of industrial reform within the early years
included some autonomy for the utilization of held benefits, production
planning, deals of yield, experimentation with new items and capital
speculation; appropriation of an ‘economic duty system’ by assigning
identifiable assignments to low-level units within an enterprise and paying
them according to efficiency; expanding the role of markets; streamlining
the administrative system at the local level for state enterprises under local
control; and encouragement of collectively owned enterprises.

Reasons for the success of China’s economic reform

Since the economic reform began, China’s genuine yield as measured by
GDP in steady costs has grown at an exceptional average rate of 9.6
percent per annum. There's no question that China has experienced a
quick rate of economic development, but what clarifies the victory of its
reforms?
• First, Chinese leaders are practical and not subject to ideological
limitations. Of course, a few approaches were not proposed since
Communist Party individuals were not prepared to acknowledge them at
the time. On the subject of pragmatism, Deng Xiaoping said that one
should not care whether a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice.
• Second, there was no outline for the economic institutions and
arrangements that were received through experimentation. This can be a
preparation for learning by doing or, as Deng put it, ‘crossing the river while
feeling the stones. There are two points of interest in such experiments:
they identify what works and, when successful, they introduce the old
protection to better approaches, convincing them to provide their support to
the reform program. This process has been characterized as ‘gradualism’,
in contrast to the ‘shock therapy’ adopted by some Eastern European
nations, which endeavored to change to a market economy almost
immediately.
• Third, the reforms had the support of the Chinese individuals and
government officials who had experienced the failure of the planned
economy. They wanted a modern framework after the excesses of the
Cultural Revolution.
• Fourth, there was political stability whereas the reforms took place; the
Communist Party remained in power and was able to exercise leadership.
• Fifth, much credit must be given to the Chinese pioneers themselves.
Deng, in specific, ought to be given most of the credit for working behind
the scenes to oversee the common course of the reforms. He advocated
practicality and experimentation. A few top pioneers were not willing to let
China deviate from its conventional course, and there was a difficult
political adjusting act at the top level of the Communist Party. Zhao Ziyang
was a brilliant financial thinker who served as premier and afterward party
general secretary and who designed and carried out economic reform, and
Hu Yaobang was the sympathetic and profoundly regarded party secretary.
The consequent chief, Zhu Rongji, was moreover exceptionally capable of
overseeing the economy, whereas common secretary Jiang Zemin, kept
the nation and the party in order. There have been numerous able
authorities within the Chinese Government whose commitments cannot be
identified here.

 MILITARY REFORMS
Since its first thrust for modernization in the 1980s and 1990s, the
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of the People’s Republic of China has
experienced a sensational transformation. The modernization has
included both consistent updates of doctrine, as well as changes in
equipment and organizational structure to better reflect the country’s
changing requests of warfare. Doctrinally, the PLA has moved away
from the perfect upheld by the republic’s founding father, Mao Zedong –
whose primary concern was a major conflict with the recent Soviet Union
– to one where the military would be more heavily involved in localized
conflicts. The previous Chinese Defense Minister Zhang Aiping had
watched in 1983, seven years after Mao’s passing: “The principle of war
is to achieve the greatest triumph at the smallest cost. To do this, we
must rely not only on political reasons, but also on the war commander's
correct strategy and tactics, the sophisticated nature of our military
equipment, the quality of our soldiers who operate the equipment, and
so on." The continuing standoff between Indian and Chinese forces in
Ladakh, along the Line of Actual Control, exemplifies the implementation
of this tactic (LAC).
China took considerable steps to reorganize its PLA after learning
lessons from its war with Vietnam in 1979. Under Deng Xiaoping's
leadership, the Central Military Commission (CMC) recognized the
decreasing possibility of total war and implemented improvements in
doctrine, organization, and equipment between 1985 and 1995, bearing
in mind limited, yet intensive wars. These included a stronger focus on
joint operations, the development of indigenous weapons, and the
transformation of the PLA into a leaner and more efficient combat force,
with total troops dropping from 13.3 million in 1985 to 5.4 million in 1995.
The Gulf War, which took place from 1990-to 1991, further altered
Chinese views on combat. The PLA changed its command structure to
ensure that it became a technologically capable military, taking influence
from the US military's decentralized command structure and heavy use
of technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). The
PLA's land, air, naval, and nuclear-cumulative-ballistic-missile forces are
the four main areas of capacity development and deployment. The PLA
was completely reformed in the late 1980s, and then began making
equipment acquisitions in the early 1990s—the phases of modernization
 were first doctrinal, then organizational. Its force planners and strategists
have understood the need of creating and deploying capabilities for
theater-level military situations since that time. Indeed, its capabilities
remain effective today because they are targeted at resolving future
conflicts on China's periphery, such as a cross-strait clash with Taiwan
or along the Sino-Indian border.
The huge growth of China's economy since the turn of the century has
aided its military modernization. Over the last decade, China's military
spending has remained stable at roughly 1.7 percent of GDP, with a
progressive drop in its share of government spending, from 7.6 percent
in 2010 to 5.4 percent in 2021. These numbers show that China's
military capabilities have grown at a healthy rate about its GDP.
However, Chinese defense budgets and expenditures are opaque; in
absolute terms, China's defense spending has increased dramatically
over the last decade.

Army:
Although the army is the largest and most significant service, its importance
has diminished as Beijing aspires to construct an integrated fighting force
with world-class naval and air capabilities. According to the International
Institute for Strategic Studies, the army shrank to roughly 975,000 troops
as the other services grew (IISS). Reforms have aimed to streamline the
organization's top-heavy command structure, create smaller, more flexible
units, and empower lower-level commanders. The army's armaments are
likewise being upgraded. Its lightweight Type 15 tank, for example, entered
service in 2018 and is capable of combat in high-altitude environments like
Tibet.

Navy: 
In terms of ship numbers, the navy has grown at an amazing rate to
become the world's greatest naval force. It commissioned eighteen ships in
2016, compared to five for the US Navy. The quality of the PLA's ships has
also improved: according to RAND Corporation, more than 70% of the fleet
could be called contemporary in 2017, up from less than 50% in 2010.
According to experts, the navy, which has an estimated 250,000 active
military members, has risen to prominence in China's close waters and is
now undertaking operations at longer distances. More nuclear submarines
and aircraft carriers are among its modernization ambitions. China has two
aircraft carriers compared to eleven for the US. A third carrier, which is
being built domestically, is expected to be operational by 2022.

Air Force:
The air force has risen as well, with 395,000 active members in 2018. It
boasts modern technology, including airborne warning and control systems,
bombers, and unmanned aerial vehicles, some of which are thought to be
based on stolen American designs. The air force also possesses a stealth
aircraft arsenal, which includes J-20 fighters. According to the RAND
Corporation, 50% of China's fighters and fighter-bombers were modern in
2015.

Rocket Force: 
The rocket force, which is in charge of maintaining China's conventional
and nuclear rockets, was elevated to an independent service following
reforms in 2015. There are approximately 120,000 active troops in the
country. As part of its A2/AD strategy, China has progressively enlarged its
nuclear arsenal (estimated to be 290 warheads in 2019) and updated its
capabilities, including the development of anti-ship ballistic missiles that
might strike the US warships in the Western Pacific. China is said to have
the most midrange ballistic and cruise missiles, weapons that the US and
Russia were previously barred from creating.
The PLA is also working on hypersonic missiles, which can travel at speeds
several times faster than sound and are hence more difficult to defend
against. China's medium-range DF-17 missile is slated to be operational in
2020, while Russia is the only country having a deployed hypersonic
weapon. According to the Pentagon, it will take several years before the US
possesses one.

Strategic Support Force:

 Established during the 2015 reforms, the Strategic Support Force
manages the PLA’s electronic warfare, cyber warfare, and psychological
operations, among other high-tech missions. With an estimated 145,000
service members, it is also responsible for the military’s space operations,
including those with satellites.

 CULTURAL REVOLUTION
To restore his control over the Chinese government, Communist leader
Mao Zedong started the Cultural Revolution in China in 1966. Mao called
on the nation's youth to purge the "impure" elements of Chinese society
and revive the revolutionary spirit that had led to victory in the civil war 20
years earlier and the formation of the People's Republic of China, believing
that the current Communist leaders were leading the party and China in the
wrong direction. The Cultural Revolution lasted until Mao died in 1976, and
its tumultuous and violent legacy would reverberate in Chinese politics and
culture for decades.

The Cultural Revolution Begins

In the 1960s, Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong began to
believe that the current Chinese Communist Party leadership, like that of
the Soviet Union, was heading too far in a revisionist direction,
emphasizing expertise over ideological purity. Mao's political standing had
eroded following the failure of his "Great Leap Forward" (1958-60) and the
ensuing economic catastrophe. Chairman Mao Zedong recruited a cadre of
radicals, including his wife Jiang Qing and defense minister Lin Biao, to aid
him in attacking the incumbent party leadership and reasserting his power.

At a meeting of the Central Committee Plenum in August 1966, Mao

declared the so-called Cultural Revolution (officially known as the Great
Proletarian Cultural Revolution). He declared a state of emergency in the
country's schools, calling for a large student movement to confront present
party officials over their adoption of bourgeois ideals and lack of
revolutionary spirit. The movement swiftly increased in the months that
followed, as students organized paramilitary groups known as the Red
Guards, which targeted and tormented China's elderly and intellectual
people. With several sections of the movement claiming the authentic
interpretation of Maoist theory, a personality cult sprang up around Mao,
similar to that which occurred around Josef Stalin. The population was
urged to rid itself of the “Four Olds”:
 Old customs
 Old culture
 Old habits
 Old ideas.

Lin Biao’s Role in the Cultural Revolution\

President Liu Shaoqi and other Communist leaders were deposed during
the Cultural Revolution's early stages (1966-68). Many Chinese cities were
on the verge of anarchy by September 1967, when Mao had Lin deploy
army troops to restore order after different sections of the Red Guard
movement fought for power. The army quickly moved many Red Guards
members from the cities into rural areas, where the movement slowed. The
Chinese economy suffered as a result of the turmoil, with industrial
production falling by 12% in 1968 compared to 1966.
Lin was formally named Mao's successor in 1969. He quickly declared
martial law, using border battles with Soviet soldiers as a justification.
Disturbed by Lin's rash power grab, Mao began to maneuver against him
with the support of China's premier, Zhou Enlai, splintering the Chinese
government's power ranks. Lin died in an airplane crash in Mongolia in
September 1971, presumably while attempting to flee to the Soviet Union.
Following this, members of his top military leadership were removed, and
Zhou assumed increasing control of the government. Many Chinese
civilians were disillusioned by Mao's lofty "revolution," which looked to have
disintegrated in favor of mundane power conflicts, after Lin's terrible death.
Cultural Revolution Comes to an End
Zhou helped to stabilize China by revitalizing the educational system and
restoring power to several former authorities. However, Mao suffered a
stroke in 1972, and Zhou was diagnosed with cancer the following year.
The two leaders backed Deng Xiaoping, a move that was opposed by Jiang
and her Gang of Four allies, who became known as the Gang of Four.
China's politics teetered between the two camps for the following few
years. In April 1976, a few months after Zhou's death, the radicals
persuaded Mao to purge Deng, but after Mao died in September of that
year, a civil, police, and military combination threw the Gang of Four out.
Deng reclaimed power in 1977 and remained in charge of China's
government for the next two decades.
Long-Term Effects of the Cultural Revolution
During the Cultural Revolution, 1.5 million people were killed, while millions
more were imprisoned, had their property seized, were tortured, or were
humiliated in some way. The Cultural Revolution's immediate
repercussions were felt mostly in China's cities, but its long-term
consequences would be felt throughout the country for decades. Mao's
massive onslaught on the party and system he had built would ultimately
have the opposite effect, leading many Chinese to lose faith in their
government entirely.

Potential Superpower
China is regarded as a prospective superpower as a result of the
aforementioned implications.
Academics and other professionals have characterized the People's
Republic of China as a rising or emerging economic growth and military
powerhouse, as evidenced by constant discussion of its potential
superpower status in the popular press. The Worldwide Language Monitor
has designated the "rise of China" the top news story of the twenty-first
century, based on the number of appearances in global print and electronic
media, the Internet and blogosphere, and social media. Scholars have
coined the term "second superpower" to describe the likelihood of the
People's Republic of China gaining global power and influence on par with
the United States. The Group of two refers to the potential for the two
countries to strengthen their ties to address global challenges.
"China undoubtedly has the most promising all-round profile" of a potential
superpower, were according to Barry Buzan in 2004. "China is today the
most fashionable future superpower, and its degree of alienation from the
dominant world society makes it the most obvious political competitor,”
were according to Buzan. However, he emphasized that this threat is
hampered by enormous development constraints as well as the fact that its
growth could spark a counter-coalition of Asian powers

BRIC status:
While the rest of the world is focused on Greece's problems, the BRICS
countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – have been
working to advance their economic agenda, most recently at their seventh
annual conference in Ufa, Siberia. Although the meeting was hosted by
Russia, China was seen as the group's leader. Indeed, the BRICS have
already proven to be a force multiplier for Chinese diplomacy, and they can
continue to be so if China is cautious not to over-emphasize its national
interests.
So far, China has been a driving force behind the BRICS members' march
toward true collaboration. In recent weeks, its members have pledged $10
billion apiece to their New Development Bank, which is expected to begin
lending next year; released a unified plan for economic and trade
cooperation; and agreed to a $100 billion contingency fund to help
countries with balance-of-payments problems.
However, due to heavy economic headwinds, the BRICS' future remains
questionable. Brazil is beset by corruption scandals and a lackluster
economy. Russia is likely to be in recession as a result of Western
sanctions imposed in reaction to its intervention in Ukraine. India's currency
has been sinking, and the country's public debt has been rising. China GDP
increased by only 7.4% last year, the worst rate in 24 years. South Africa's
economic growth has been sluggish, in part due to energy shortages.
Many Western analysts feel the BRICS are fractured as a result of these
developments. Ruchir Sharma of Morgan Stanley has stated that the
victors of the previous decade may not be able to repeat their success in
this one. Even Jim O'Neill, the man who created the term "BRIC," admits
that has turned his attention to the “MINT” economies – Mexico, Indonesia,
Nigeria, and Turkey – the BRICS’ key emerging-country competitors.
However, not everyone is pessimistic about the BRICS' prospects and
global impact, either individually or collectively. "The growth of non-Western
economies is a deeply embedded historic change that can survive any
number of economic and political crises," according to journalist Gideon
Rachman. China appears to be banking on this being the case.
The Chinese government is now going even farther, pressing the other
BRICS countries to institutionalize their collaboration rather than focusing
solely on internal reform. A stronger BRICS alliance, China claims, would
assist to protect the interests of all emerging countries. To that aim, the
country is leading the charge to restructure the global economic
infrastructure; including lobbying for changes to the IMF's weighted voting
system.
Despite the potential benefits for emerging and developing economies,
such measures have caused concern among China's BRICS partners, who
fear that its leadership may swiftly convert into dominance. Aside from
inherent disparities in the BRICS countries' political systems, social norms,
and cultural traditions - factors that weaken trust and cohesion — China's
economy (not to mention its military) dwarfs the others'.
If China wants the BRICS to continue to strengthen its bonds, it should aim
to serve as a guiding hand within the grouping, taking a cautious rather
than aggressive approach. That means, above all, limiting India's and
Russia's geopolitical competition. At the same time, it should be
transparent and pragmatic in dealing with its advanced-country
counterparts, supporting an inclusive global policy agenda that unites the
developed and developing countries.
A unified anti-West alliance would suit China's interests no better than a
grouping rived by rivalries and disagreements. An agile and coherent
BRICS grouping with a solid reputation as a major producer of global public
goods is what China – and the rest of the rising and developing countries –
require.

Conclusion
In the twentieth century, China's history was marked by occupation and
civil war. This experience has fostered its strong aspiration for Great Power
status while also lagging behind the West in technological advancement by
decades. China has undergone a revolution under Deng Xiaoping's
leadership, resulting in a massive economic recovery. China is currently a
major trade nation with a sizable foreign currency reserve, and it is
expected to overtake the United States as the world's largest economy by
2010. China's leaders have realized that economic reform is the only way
to achieve the status they desire on their terms.
Even though it faces no security threats, China has changed its military
strategy and capabilities dramatically. The Gulf War and the understanding
in the 1980s that the Soviet Union was no longer a major threat have had a
tremendous impact on Chinese military thinking. The strategic focus has
switched from defense to offense. Power projection and the ability to fight a
contemporary war with technological technologies are the key themes.
China has also begun an extensive military modernization program as a
result of its economic development and shift in military strategy. The
PLAAF is in the process of obtaining some of the world's most modern
fighter/bomber aircraft and armaments. They're also investing in cutting-
edge air defense systems and developing supporting aircraft capabilities
like in-flight refueling and early warning. The PLAN is also updating its fleet
to increase power projection. China is in the process of replacing its
submarines and has purchased Russian Kilo-class submarines. New
surface boats are being developed, and the PLAN is focusing more on
replenishment capabilities at sea. Despite not receiving the same level of
attention as the navy or the air force, the PLA has established a substantial
RRU.
China has also proceeded to modernize its nuclear arsenal, developing a
solid-fuel missile with MIRV capability. There has also been an active
space program, with plans to test a space shuttle by 2005.
China's economic and military transformations are intended at upsetting the
regional power balance that has existed since World War II. China's
territorial claims in the South China Sea, as well as its recent actions
against Taiwan, have indicated imperial objectives. As China faces
increased pressure to supply food and resources for one-quarter of the
world's population, a more aggressive and expansionist agenda may
emerge. If the current change continues, China will be able to challenge
both the region and the West economically and militarily in the future.
Closer ties with Russia have already resulted in a strategic partnership
aimed at countering American dominance. It's unclear how long this
partnership will be required. With its continued efforts to establish a high-
tech economic system, China has laid the groundwork for becoming far
stronger than the old Soviet Union, and possibly even more powerful than
the United States.
China is ruled by a communist regime that has proven its dissatisfaction
with its international status. While Western governments have spent a lot of
time and thought thinking about how to deal with China, their policies have
had no impact on the current regime's regard for human rights or
democracy. The core issue is that the CCP's stability is a source of concern
for Asia-Pacific and global security. Any Western movement in China to
promote human rights and democracy poses a direct danger to the current
leadership. The ferocity of the Tiananmen Square massacre should serve
as a reminder of how important it is for the CCP to keep power. China is
increasingly seeing itself as a counterweight to the West. China's security
strategy has shifted from defensive to an offensive in its quest to become a
great power. If China wants to be a dominant world power, it will have the
capacity to substantially disrupt the current world order if it follows the
pattern of the former Soviet Union.
The economic and military transformation of China is well underway. It is
critical that the West not be naive to its intentions. With its ambitions
concerning territorial claims, the challenges it will face providing for its
population and the insecure and suspicious nature of its communist
government, Canada and the West face a potentially serious threat from
China in the future.
References
 https://nuke.fas.org/guide/china/doctrine/0046.htm
 https://infobrics.org/
 https://carnegieendowment.org/2009/12/29/china-s-not-superpower-
pub-24404
 https://books.google.com.pk/books?
id=4aLF7epLTXMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=china+transition+to+su
perpower&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXq__w0f32AhX3hf0HHRJGC
pcQ6AF6BAgHEAI#:~:text=China%27s%20Growth%3A%20The,By
%20Linda%20Yueh
 China's Growth: The Making of an Economic Superpower
By Linda Yueh
 https://www.google.com.pk/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=bibliogroup:
%22Understanding+global+issues+:
+a+periodic+briefing+with+topic+map,+illustrations,+charts,
+facts+and+analysis%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=2
Title China in Transition: The Making of a New Superpower
Author Cornelsen Verlag
 https://research.library.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1015&context=international_senior