Asan-Palgrave Macmillan Series. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. xiv, 299 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$38.00, paper. ISBN 978-1-137-53707-2.
In recent decades there has been a great deal of debate about China’s growing power, as scholars attempt to understand the implications of China’s “rise” for East Asia, the United States, and the larger international community. This book addresses important questions about China’s emergence as a regional and global power through an analysis of the topic from a variety of perspectives. Bringing together thirteen prominent China scholars from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia, the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea, this volume offers a comprehensive assessment of China’s national power that is notable for both its breadth and depth. Each chapter follows a similar pattern in identifying specific criteria for evaluating Chinese power, reviewing recent developments, comparing China’s power to that of the United States, and projecting future directions.
In his introductory chapter, editor Jae Ho Chung identifies three schools of thought with regard to China’s rise to global power: the “Confident School,” the “Pessimist School,” and the “Uncertain School.” The contributors to this volume tend to fall into the latter camp, which recognizes that China has the potential to become a great power or even a hegemon, but acknowledges that there is a great deal of uncertainty in this process and that China faces numerous challenges and problems along the way. As a result, Chung advocates “careful empirical investigations from multiple angles and perspectives” (3). That is exactly what Assessing China’s Power delivers to its readers.
The initial chapters examine domestic aspects of China’s rising power, such as economic growth and governance. Tony Saich, for example, explores how economic development has changed Chinese society, creating a large middle class that is both connected to the global economy and active on social media. Despite these changes, the Chinese Communist Party has maintained its “authoritarian resilience” and Saich finds that Chinese citizens have increasing confidence in the central government. Local officials, on the other hand, face significant criticism and protests, which remains a daunting challenge as Chinese leaders grapple with corruption and the changing expectations of the Chinese people.
Andrew Erickson, Michael S. Chase, and Kevin Pollpeter analyze recent PRC military developments in air, naval, nuclear, space, and cyber war capabilities. All argue that the Chinese military has made significant progress in recent decades, but China’s overall weapons systems and capabilities remain far behind those of the United States. Chinese officials have concentrated on quality, rather than quantity, seeking to develop a military force sufficient to deter foreign intervention along China’s periphery and coastal areas. Thus, rather than challenge the United States in numbers of ships, missiles, or nuclear warheads, the Chinese military hopes to maintain a zone of influence in the region using a strategy of “deterrence by denial” (86). Cyber warfare, as a way to offset the advantage of any high-tech opponent, plays a central role in this strategy and the People’s Liberation Army has devoted significant resources to this area.
Evaluating China’s normative or “soft” power poses special problems, but some of the volume’s contributors offer detailed analyses of China’s ability to influence other states. Hankwon Kim argues that while China has made great strides in developing its economic and military power, it lags behind in terms of “soft power.” Chinese leaders have attempted to present China as an appropriate model for developing states, but with minimal results. Ann Kent points out that China’s global influence has increased with its greater involvement in the international community, but China retains a deep-seated determination to uphold its traditional notions of national sovereignty. This limits China’s willingness to participate in collective interventions in other areas of the world and leads Chinese leaders to view with skepticism Western suggestions that China should be a “good citizen” and take on greater international responsibilities.
David Kang and Evelyn Goh see China’s relations with its neighbors as an important window on China’s role in the larger global community. While acknowledging that the South China Seas dispute is the most likely flashpoint for regional conflict, both see signs of stability despite China’s new military capabilities and growing assertiveness in regional affairs. Kang points to static or declining military budgets among Northeast Asian states, including Taiwan, as an indication that China’s neighbors do not feel the need to match China’s military spending. He finds little difference between those that have military ties to the United States and those that do not. Goh argues that while China has had a profound economic impact on Southeast Asia, most of these states desire a strong American presence in the region, which they hope will serve as a balance to growing Chinese power.
In the final section, Suisheng Zhao and Zhimin Chen explore Chinese perspectives on China’s rise as a global power, particularly in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. They conclude that Chinese elites now see themselves as global leaders and have adopted a more assertive and proactive foreign policy. As Chen puts it, there is a new sense of national strength among Chinese leaders who no longer see China as a “weaker member among the second-tier great powers of the world” (286). These leaders also have a keen interest in assessing China’s global influence and researchers in Chinese think tanks are hard at work seeking empirical data with which to better measure China’s normative power.
All of the authors contributing to this volume offer intelligent analysis of recent developments, ongoing challenges, and likely future directions as China continues its rise within the global community. The essays are remarkably coherent and complimentary, collectively providing a comprehensive assessment of China’s economic, military, normative, regional, and global power. As such, this is an important and useful book for anyone interested in contemporary Chinese affairs.
Peter Worthing
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, USA
pp. 116-118