The Influence of the PRC
Introduction
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the state that most influences contemporary international security. The globalization of the Communist superpower projects brings employment and economic growth. Since joining the World Trade Organization, China has become an increasingly influential participant in the global economy, and has used this increase in wealth to finance its other ambitions, including re-establishing itself as a great maritime power and increasing its influence over the South China Sea and nuclear development within the Indo-Pacific region.
People’s Republic of China Context
The People’s Republic of China emerged as the winning side in the post-WWII civil war between the Communist Party of China and the ruling Kuomintang. The latter was exiled to Taiwan, the PRC invaded Tibet, and the next change to the shape of the Chinese map was the return of Hong Kong and Macau to PRC rule in 1997 and 1999 respectively. In the early 1980s the Communist Party began the process of opening up China’s economy, but did so without opening up much else in Chinese society (“The Internationalization of China’s Economy). By 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization, and at that time it was already growing its economy rapidly. Since that point, China has become an economic powerhouse, and this in turn has allowed China to increase its military might considerably, and restore the nation to its former status as a regional and global power.
Great Power Competition
Great powers often engage in competition for power and influence, both in their respective regions and in the world at large. The competition of ideas, practices and norms may not be overtly confrontational but does reveal significant strategic divergence between great powers (Pollack, nd). China’s relationships, both with the West and with other Asia-Pacific powers, is characterized by its 20th and 21st century histories. Its relationship with Japan is strongly influenced by the latter’s imperial ambitions in the 1930s, when it took over a section of China and ruled with brutality. China’s relationship with the West is colored by the fact that China is run by a Communist regime, and the West has strongly opposed Communism ever since the idea was invented. Furthermore, China’s northern hegemon, Russia, while also a Communist regime, has strained relations with China dating back to at least the 1960s.
Underpinning the nature of great power competition in the world today is that many of the 20th centuries most significant powers have slower-growing economies and older populations, while there are now many emerging economies with young populations and fast-growing economies, thereby tilting the balance of power and giving it greater distribution (NIC, 2017). This reality gives China more opportunities to exert its influence around the globe.
A recent development only served to underscore what many observers have known for a long while, that there is a great competition between major powers. In a speech by US Vice-President Mike Pence, a looming cold war was indicated, in turn revealing how the US perceives the PRC, and likely showing that the PRC feels similarly towards the US and other major rivals – such views are seldom birthed in a vacuum, but as the result of evidence, actions and words between the powers (Global Times, 2018). While some believe that the strategic competition between the US and China is likely to remain in the realm of trade and technology, it does underscore the risk that the competition could extend beyond that, especially if the US perceives that its interests in Asia are threatened by the PRC’s growing power.
The structural realist approach to international relations holds that the balance of power and competition between nations is the most important aspect of international politics, and it appears that the US and PRC leadership share a the realist view. This view is rooted in a variation of the zero sum game, where one nation’s power comes at the expense of another nation’s power. Further to that, there is only so much power to go around, and increasing power of one will necessarily lead it to enjoy better deals, a military advantage and ultimately it will “win”…
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