By Yonatan McHugh
23 July 2018
Across the world over, China is well known for its industrial capacity and the population that it commands. Since the fall of the Chinese emperorship, popular perception has not viewed China as a powerful entity and for most of that intermission this perception was well grounded in fact. That, however, is changing every year and has been for decades. Since market reforms in 1978, China’s economy has experienced rapid growth and now is positioned as the world’s second largest economy. Ever since the 1978 reforms, there was hope that China’s opening itself up may prime a shift in political alignment. The desire for China to grow away from the crumbling USSR did occur and China did change. This change was not, however, in the direction of western liberalism championed by much of western Europe and the United States. An economic, social, and military assessment of the political and ideological changes in China crystallize around Xi Jinping. Under his strategies, his nation has made long strides towards the power a modern hegemon is capable of wielding. In determining the truth of that, the obvious place to start is hard power, that is, military capability. Since the military reforms in China’s People’s Liberation Army in 2016, operational coordination with air support and surveillance has become a central function. The extended deployment of naval forces should also be noted.
This alone does not prove that China exerts influence over other countries as other post-imperial states are known for. Two particular instantiations indicate that China is an expanding hegemon. The first, is much closer to their sovereign territory, namely Southeast Asia. These countries, having little other trade and investment opportunity have had extensive dealings with China for years. China’s increase in infrastructure investment in Southeast Asia in particular provides more clarity into the regional strategy in operation. Other notable Chinese focuses in investing in the region are energy, transport, and real estate. Growth in the region depend on such financing and could serve to further dependence in the future on the growing rival to the west. The second case that serves as an indication of China’s political trajectory is in Africa. For years now, Chinese corporations, many of which partially under the control of the state have been expanding operations in the African continent. Only now, however, is China moving to establish military presence in Africa to reinforce its interests there. Joint military operations with some of the countries in the region and the establishment of foreign military bases for the People’s Liberation Army serve as a focal point for the rise of the nation as an international competitor.
To the western ideological purist, the political changes occuring in China domestically are perhaps even more troubling. The most recent example being Xi Jinping, the leader of the Communist party in China and the standing president of the nation, has abolished presidential term limits. Considering most of his power is held through the party and through unofficial venues rather than the office of the presidency itself, this seems to indicate that Xi Jinping is insistent not just on having supreme authority in China, but also being perceived as thus. The effort expended on perception by Xi and his administration is perhaps best exemplified by the overt censorship of Winnie the Pooh ever since memes circulated comparing Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh. The authority held by Xi Jinping is less of a laughing matter. Most political experts hold that he is the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. Internationally and domestically, the militaristic and economic aspects of China’s power are efficiently centrally planned. The structure of their power and success depend on their autocracy and internationalism. Even if China’s next leader is not as powerful as Xi Jinping, these aspects are likely here to stay.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Infuse Student Media or Southwest Baptist University.
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