Is China a superpower?

• Despite not being a member, China was included in NATO's Strategic concept
• China's aggregated economic wealth almost equals that of the USA's
• China is expanding and building its nuclear force as well as its nuclear delivery platforms
• Have nearly 600 satellites in orbit - of which 229 are intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites.

  • China has the world's second largest fleet of satellites after the US
  • Chinese cyber capabilities can wreak havoc in every corner of the world
• By 2010, the Chinese economy was 90 times greater than it had been in 1978
• With the world's largest population, China has massive reserves of cheap labour, making it the manufacturing and export heart of the world
• 'String of Pearls' initiative - (the concept of China building a network of commercial+ military bases in ports across many countries - seen as a threat to India) shows China's expanding geo-political influence
• China has become the most successful neo-colonial power in the world
• China is Africa's biggest trading partner and the value of China-Africa trade in 2019 was $192 billion, up from $185 billion in 2018
• In defiance of the Monroe Doctrine, which regards South America as firmly within the US's sphere of influence, China has dramatically increased investment in the region.

  • From 2000 to 2013, trade between China and South America increased 22 times
  • China is the 2nd largest trading partner of Latin America (after the US)
• President Xi JinPing has made numerous visits to the continent in order to further develop economic + diplomatic ties.
• Chinese investments are global - Chinese investors own Birmingham City Football Club, House of Fraser, Pizza Express, Volvo and Weetabix
• Since 2001, China has been a member of the WTO
• In 2015, Beijing established the AIIB, which provides loans to developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
• China heavily invests in the US in the form of FDI which shows growth given that China used to rely on FDI from Western Powers
• In 2014, China deployed the Jin-class ballistic missile submarine in the South China Sea. Each submarine is armed with 12 JL-2 nuclear missiles
• China spreads a smaller share of its GDP on defence than the Soviet Union did in the Cold War
• China is a regional power, not a superpower. Superpowers have a global influence + the ability to throw their armed forces into any major threat of War.

  • China is a regional Power which holds Great Power status.
• The Geographical reach of their technologies is insufficient to strongly influence strategic theatres beyond Asia
• Geography makes China even more dependant on overseas bases and willing allies, than the US to move its armed forces beyond its home region. China has almost none of either

  • China has one overseas base in Djibouti staffed with 400 Chinese marines
• The US Navy sails the world's oceans on a daily basis whilst the Chinese Navy only occasionally conducts Naval diplomacy missions beyond the Indo-Pacific
• China is still considered a developing country due to the levels of poverty + lack of development in significant parts of the country, especially in rural areas
• China's military + diplomatic outreach does NOT match its economic outreach
• China's global influence is limited by its communist ideology

  • America's democratic liberal values have especially since WW2 had a global appeal which China's more authoritarian approach lacks.
• The rising influence of ASEAN which provides an opposite model of development.
• India , as the world's largest democracy represents a potential barrier to China's global influence
• China's record on human rights means that they are heavily criticised by the international community which impacts their soft power

  • Crimes against humanity + possible genocide against Uighur Muslim population.