Assessing China's Hegemonic Ambitions

Abstract

China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate over the past twenty years has been phenomenal and if continued even at a slightly slower pace, could exceed the GDP of the United States (US) by 2020. It is highly conceivable that China might convert the economic power into military and diplomatic power. Given China's domination of Tibet, incursions into the Spratly Islands, run-ins with the US and Japan, and a host of other seemingly assertive behavior, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether continued economic growth will lead to increasing hegemonic tendencies. This thesis employs a China-centric approach--China's history, classical strategic literature, strategic trends, and sources from the People's Republic of China (PRC) government, paramount leaders, and strategic thinkers are analyzed in order to uncover China's grand strategy and other clues that may signal hegemonic ambitions. These findings are then corroborated with an analysis of current day events as a reality check.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 17, 2005
Accession Number
ADA437053

Entities

People

  • Chad-son Ng

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Economic Systems
  • Globalization
  • Governments
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Investments
  • Market Economy
  • Military Budgets
  • Military Science
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Political Systems
  • Sociopolitics
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Economics
  • Theoretical Analysis.