Abstract
Chinese military plays much greater role in the internal security affairs not just compared to any other major power in the world now, but also in comparison with most of the other Cold War-era Communist regimes, especially the USSR. Chinese military modernization was preceded by a period of relative neglect for the military. After Xi Jinping’s rise, the aim of the military modernization is to better prepare for a more turbulent future. The key element and results of the military reform is extreme centralization of command and control systems under the personal control of the top leader. In the current decade, China is supposed to be the 3rd country in the world possessing the full nuclear triad which would be augmented by a ballistic missile early warning system (built since 2000s with Russian assistance) and significant anti-satellite and anti-ballistic missile defense capabilities to defend the country and serve China’s globalizing interests. However, the planned reduction of the newly built aircraft carriers’ groups from six to four may at the same time signify an appearance of a more realistic stance.
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Notes
- 1.
Chinese core interests, according to the State Council’s Peaceful Development White Paper 2011 (Information Office of State Council 2011), include state sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity, and national reunification, China’s political system established by the Constitution and overall social stability, and the basic safeguards for ensuring sustainable economic and social development.
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Voskressenski, A.D. (2020). Resources, Trends, and Goals of Chinese Military Modernization. In: Voskressenski, A.D. (eds) China’s Infinite Transition and its Limits. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6271-6_3
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