ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the usefulness of labeling China as a superpower, by comparing China’s military capabilities with those of the two big superpowers. It discusses diplomatic, economic, and educational issues as they bear on military questions. The chapter explores with the observation that the perception of power is a power of its own, the evolution of the images of China in the West as they bear on China’s strategic role. Nuclear weapons, delivery systems and space programs may have a greater bearing on China’s strategic role than the size and quality of its armed forces. China’s strategic role in the Pacific Region is further hampered by the lack of military alliances with any major power and by geopolitical vulnerability. In a day of modern warfare when sea and air lanes are the decisive geo-political factors, China’s large land area does not provide any significant strategic advantage.
