ABSTRACT
China’s official view of prospects for the Asia-Pacific region glosses over the area’s growing economic disparities, and is largely optimistic, contrasting its relative stability with a turbulent Europe. The Asia-Pacific region is, of course, the world’s fastest-growing economic pole, and a stable and economically prosperous China is seen as crucial to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region as a whole. The March 1993 session of the National People’s Congress defined China’s twin goals as a prosperous economy and a strong military. In reality, China’s defence strategy is, of course, formulated on the basis of perceived threats to China’s security, which are in turn attendant upon the emergence of a new, multipolar international diplomacy, as noted earlier. China’s international relations journals have latterly been providing ample analysis of the new regional balance of power as viewed by the Chinese leadership.
