China Adjusts Strategic Thinking

In the wake of the war in Iraq and the volatile global situation, it would appear that world power is becoming more widely dispersed than was the case in the past. Entering the 21st century, East Asia has been striving for economic integration and China’s economy continues to grow rapidly. To adapt itself to the changes happening internationally, China has readjusted its strategic thinking. Recently, Cheng Yawen, a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, wrote an article on these readjustments in China’s thinking. Excerpts follow:

ALL ABOUT CHANGE: Shanghai financial center located at Lujiazui, Pudong, is a prime example of China’s rapid development. The country has readjusted its strategic thinking to keep pace with a changing world

After 20 plus years of reform and opening up, China has scored tangible achievements in economic development, along with consolidating its comprehensive national strength. During this period, the world situation China experienced has also changed dramatically.

Between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the Cold War came to an end, along with the collapse of the former Soviet Union, which together with the United States, dominated world affairs. But after the Cold War, the situation China faced deteriorated, because the United States, instead of regarding China as a third partner, began to impose restrictions. United States reinforced its relations with Japan and consolidated its military force in East Asia. China-U.S. relations during this time took a turn for the worse. After the September 11 attacks and the war in Iraq, the United States, acting from a political and pragmatic point of view, began to relieve the tension in Sino-U.S. relations. But this is a tentatively stable relationship only, as there are many uncertain factors hanging in the balance, such as the Taiwan issue and the United States’ misgivings on China’s long-term economic development policy.

In stark contrast to the unstable relations with the United States, China now enjoys improved relations with other Western countries and its neighboring countries, as well as many world organizations. This is due to the following factors:

Post Cold War

After the Iraq war, China has had more space to play its role in world affairs as previously concentrated world power begins to disperse.

FAIR EXPOSURE: The 11th International Export Products Fair was held in Kunming, Yunnan Province, on August 26, 2003, attracting 10 ASEAN member countries and falling in line with China’s new strategic thinking

After the Cold War, much debate was centered on whether the United States and the EU could maintain a close, cooperative relationship. The debate focused on two opinions: One is that with the collapse of the former Soviet Union and changes of East Europe, the allied relations between the United States and the EU will be gone forever. The other is that the allied relations between the two would remain, as they share similar culture, values, concepts, ideologies and common fundamental interests in important international affairs.

Both opinions have merit. The 1990s witnessed the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Kosovo War, in which the United States and the EU stood side by side. Their smooth cooperation benefited both sides. They held the power to handle the world’s economic and political affairs.

But this situation changed with the outbreak of the Iraq war in 2003. Contradictions between the United States and the EU began to emerge. In fact the contradictions had already existed for a while, but were triggered by the Iraq war. Their differences stemmed from the following factors: First since the euro was introduced to the world, the U.S. dollar has had a new rival. Second, Europe had long been regarded as the symbolization of Western civilization prior to World War II. But this position was then replaced by the United States. Europe has an eye on reinstating its former glory.

Furthermore, the United States made an unwise move on the Iraq issue, forcing a stand off with the EU. The Iraq war also brought about problems for the country from terrorist organizations, which have siphoned off huge energy and resources from the United States and curbed its moves in many aspects.

This situation, however, reversed China’s adverse plight. In the 1990s, China worried that the United States and the EU would join hands in trying to contain China’s growth. Today this worry has vanished. Taking this opportunity, China has escalated cooperation with European countries. Under this situation, the United States also changed its rigid attitude toward China, which offered a favorable environment for the country to play its role in world affairs.

The changes in East Asian countries are also worth noting. First, entering the 21st century, these countries have attached more importance to national interests and become more independent economically. A typical example is the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) general election, in which a considerable number of educated young people stepped into the political arena. Compared to their predecessors they place more priority on relations with other Asian countries than with the United States. Their attitude to China is even more cordial than to the United States. Second, political and economic integration of these countries has been intensified. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), established in 1967, has now expanded into an organization with 10 member countries. It has launched dialogues among the Northeast Asian countries and if it continues to develop in this way, it will become a force to be reckoned with worldwide. Third, the rise of China’s economy led to its close cooperation with ASEAN. With the manifestation of these points, these countries are seeking political independence, while the U.S. hegemony is being curbed in the region.

In Line With Changes

Currently, China is still encountering uncertain factors in terms of international environment, which posed a threat to the country’s achievements in the past two decades. But China, which has tided over a low period both internally and externally, has entered a relatively favorable period for development. The phrase “rising China” has drawn world attention and manifested the enhancement of China’s status in the world. Accordingly China should readjust its strategic mentality to be in line with this development. But how to do this in line with the changes in domestic and international situations is a task that should be treated prudently. First of all, it is important to look back in Chinese history and review the road taken toward development.

In ancient times, China’s concerns were focused on cultural influences rather than economic and political interests. After the outbreak of the Opium War, waged by Britain aimed at invading China between 1840-42, great changes took place domestically and internationally. To cope with the changes, China gradually shifted its focus to the latter, as well as the field of military affairs.

The transforming process was taken in three steps: From political independence to military strength and now to economic development. During this period, traditions in economic structure and national principles also changed. Specifically, the national economic focus has shifted from agriculture to industry, and former closed doors have opened up to the outside world, allowing a global networking process to take place.

During this period, the Chinese civilization also changed correspondingly—from seeking cultural influence to national interests and regional responsibility.

Looking at the development process of China’s strategic thinking, we can learn that a country’s strategic thinking always changes with the pace of the advancement of the times. The formation of strategic thinking is based on the country’s civilization and its internal and external environment. When the two factors change, the strategic thinking must readjust accordingly. So if we use development as the criteria, then the rise of China is its new strategic thinking.