China 2015: U.S. National Strategic Policy Now and Then
Abstract
China in the year 2015 and beyond will be a major international power with the ability to influence world decision-making bodies. The United States must implement a foreign policy that will ensure the emergence of a China in 2015 that is advantageous to regional stability and U.S. national interests. There are several different political and military variants of the future China. This paper addresses current thinking (civilian and military) regarding the future characteristics of China economically, politically, and militarily. After developing a model of the China that is expected to evolve by 2015, the paper compares current U.S. policy toward China against what it should be by that date. The model predicts a China in 2015 that is aggressive, accelerating industrially and militarily, and claiming the status of a major power nation. China will have only marginal civilian control over its military, and it will stay in line with conventional world ethics as long as it suits the military's objectives of expansion and world influence. The United States must plan to coexist with China in the future politically, militarily, and economically. The goal should be a well-thought-out strategy of engagement and enlargement with an end-state of China as an ally. Care should be taken to divorce humanitarian issues from the political and economic policies required to bring China into the industrialized world.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 05, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA529636
Entities
People
- R. B. Leininger
Organizations
- Marine Corps War College