China’s Position on the World Stage.

With China's current internal problems, should its world power status be reconsidered? Can China successfully overcome these difficulties to achieve such status on the world stage?

For many years the two world superpowers were the U.S. and the Soviet Union. More recently the Soviet Union had dissolved leaving and a number of newly independent states.” This left only the U.S. as the single superpower. In even more recent times China’s remarkable economic expansion on to the world stage has led to speculation as to whether it is heading to superpower status. On the other hand, China’s current internal problems add some pause to its readiness to reach that spire.

To judge China’s status, a definition of what is a superpower is needed. One by Lyman Miller¹, which is generally accepted, says a superpower “is a country that has the capacity to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world, and sometimes, in more than one region of the globe at a time, and so may plausibly attain the status of global hegemon.”¹ Does China fulfill the requirements of the definition?

Miller’s article first examined what was the basis, in the past, which made certain countries superpowers. Included were economic, ability to influence internationally, projecting of military strength. China is becoming strong economically, but it is far from being a leader. The ability to influence internationally is primarily vested in its permanent seat on the UN Security Council. China’s increasing military strength is still tailored for regional operation with special emphasis on the Taiwan Strait. All-in-all Miller says that China’s emergence, though spectacular, only allows it to be considered as a strong regional power rather than as a superpower. Perhaps someday, but not today! Additionally, nowhere among the parameters was internal problems considered as a factor.

The March 15, 2008 issue of the Economist² contains a special report titled “A Ravenous Dragon,” consisting of 8 interesting articles. It discusses China’s hunger for commodities to stoke their energy and industrial growth. Included among the commodities are oil, coal and metal ores including, among others, iron, aluminum, copper, zinc. Pertinent to this blog is the indication that China is setting up operations in a number of countries, including some with nasty governments, to aid them in their commodity procurement. This will enable China to increasingly be able to project its power internationally. The commodities that are coming back to China will primarily feed its growing heavy industry. The growth of heavy industry is adding to the huge environmental problems that China and its people are currently suffering. At the same time the growth of industry is adding to the turbulent social problem, especially the growing economic disparity between the urban and rural areas.

Can China’s current internal problems derail its present course to a stronger power status? Anything that could upset the political system within China, especially if it has characteristics that were as disruptive as the Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square Massacre, could slow down progress towards world power status. To calm its current internal problems, China will have to take some serious steps that will require the expenditure of a significant portion of its big economic growth. Indications are that China is starting to take its problems seriously. The question is will it be sufficient? What should also be considered is that the defining properties of world power status do not include internal or domestic problems; they are only of concern if they distract the country from its track to world status. In any event with China’s mounting presence on the world stage, being fed by the very powerful economic engine, it seems unlikely to be stopped!

1. Lyman Miller, China an Emerging Superpower? Stanford Journal of International Relations, Winter 2005.
2. Economist, (Go to website to locate March 15, 2008 issue, which contains Special Report consisting of 8 articles).