Debating China’s Rise in China

Abstract

In 2006, the 12-part TV documentary series “Rising Powers” (daquo jueqi) was airing in China. This popular television programme portrayed the conditions that gave rise to other modern great powers in history (Portugal, Spain, Holland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, the USSR, Japan, and the United States); it attracted much attention at home and abroad. What constituted the background was the lively ongoing debate on China’s possible “peaceful rise”. Four years later, it was widely reported that China surpassed Japan and became the world’s second-largest economy. Even though Beijing usually intends to keep a low profile in terms of national comprehensive power, China’s official white paper states its total economic output reached $5.88 trillion in 2010, more than 16 times that of 1978 when China started to reform, and amounted to 9.3 per cent of the world’s total from 1.8 per cent in 1978 (The State Council Information Office, 2011a). Undoubtedly, China is rising. A heated debate has emerged over the impact and implications of China’s rise. This chapter first analyses China’s options for the liberal domestic and international policies that have contributed to its growth, and then elaborates on the debate within China on its own ascent and accompanying views on China’s self-identification. This chapter also discusses whether China’s “peaceful rise” doctrine accommodates its military modernisation drive, before coming to its conclusion.