China heading for world dominance

People’s Republic of China, being governed by the Communist Party of China is the
most populous country in the world with an estimated population of 1.387 billion in
2016. When the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, Mao Zedong, who was the leader
of the Communist party took over and established the People’s Republic. Although
there was initially a phase of economic growth, the real economic development
occurred in the mid 1980s. The Government introduced a law on Chinese Foreign
Equity Joint Ventures in 1978 which boosted the GDP growth from 6% during 1953-
1978 to 9.4% during 1978-2012. It is projected that in the period between 2012-
2024, China’s GDP is to grow at 8% which is significantly higher than projections for
most countries in the world. Looks like China is on its way to become a global
superpower.

China’s Military Might

With a defence budget of US$ 150.5 Billion, China is second only to US in defence
spending and it is more than India, UK and France combined. With President Xi’s
ambitions to make People’s Liberation Army the top ranked military by 2050, China is
investing heavily in equipment and military upgradation to bring it on par with its
western counterparts. The US is being challenged in the South China Sea as the
Chinese Navy is conducting large scale drills to show off its might.

Dominance in Trade and Economy

China was the world’s largest trading nation in 2016 having total of 14% of world’s
total exports. This share has almost tripled in the last two decades. Its trade volume
with US is the largest covering almost US$ 600 Billion. China has an economy of
US$ 11 trillion as compared to US$ 19 trillion of the US. However, this gap is
expected to be surpassed soon as China is growing 2.5 times as fast as the US.
One Belt One Road (OBOR) is an ambitious but simple vision to create the modern
day silk road. The main aim of the project is to increase China’s economic and
political influence across Central Asia and Europe.
Implications on the future for SE Asia and US

Recommendation on the way forward

It looks as if China will be the world
Reference:
http://data.stats.gov.cn/english/adv.htm?m=advquery&cn=C01
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/07/brief-history-of-china-economic-growth/
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-china-navy-bases/
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2115968/xi-orders-
massive-military-shake-meet-threats-worlds
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2141322/chinese-navy-
stages-double-show-strength-us-strike
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-18/bannon-isn-t-wrong-china-is-
becoming-world-s-dominant-economy
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/will-china-rule-the-world-asian-
superpower-faces-uncertain-future/news-
story/5d2bd144655830f3c1bc52425dfaeb86