An experimental report (or net assessment) by CSIS in Washington DC, entitled [China and the U.S.: Cooperation, Competition and/or Conflict], addresses the rise of China as a ‘global superpower’. The report addresses various dimensions of China-US relations such as China’s evolving national strategy, its emergence as an economic power, the significance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, key areas of military focus (for instance China 2019 defense white paper), the views from other Asian actors, and Chinese force development and modernization among other things. This rather comprehensive report tries to map out broad trends instead of focusing on specific numbers and stats.
It is impossible to summarize the full scope of the report here. Some key points, however, stand out. In terms of the strategic priority of China, a key point that is emphasized in the report is that “China's economic progress, and regional economic outreach, will often be more of the central focus of its grand strategy than the modernization and expansion of its military forces.” The implication of such a finding is that no report or analysis that focuses only on either side of civil-military developments in China can begin to fully describe the real-world evolution of China’s national strategy. Another key finding is that China's strategic documents minimize China's relations or potential (and real) tensions with Japan or South or North Korea, but put considerable emphasis on the issue of Taiwan as a core national interest of China. And finally, China’s strategic line of thinking is to win the superpower competition without entering a shooting war with the US.
M. Forough
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