China builds its solid strength in parallel with its soft power and invests in America’s policy first
Geo-economic competition between the United States and China has become fixed in the global scene, as well as the conviction that Washington is seeking to settle multiple thorny files with the aim of devotion to facing the bigger challenge from Asia.
Anna Palacio, Spanish Foreign Minister, stopped between 2002 and 2004, at the report issued by China on national security, the first of its kind, and what it contains on the “concept of comprehensive national security”, as President Xi Jinping sees it, including an integrated approach, including political, economic, military, technological, cultural and societal fields.
It is noteworthy that the report confirms that political security is a basis for national stability -the vital element so that China can work as a stability force in a troubled world that attributes its lack of stability to the policies of Western countries, in general and the United States in particular.
It is known that China criticized, for example, the American strikes of Iranian nuclear sites, in which it saw an engine of instability in an area where political and military earthquakes do not stop. In this context, a statement by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is restored, in which he said that President Donald Trump’s policy and its title “America first” will return the world to the “law of the jungle” if all countries adopt it. In this case, “the smaller and weaker countries will bear the burden before others, and the international norms and the international system will be subjected to a painful blow.”
China opportunity
In fact, it is possible to go beyond the direct Chinese speech, to conclude that China is likely satisfied with what Washington is doing despite the direct damage to that in the short and medium term in terms of trade exchange. The Trump administration moves with a policy that national security does not depend on the role of the global peace and stability maker, but rather on effective military deterrence, promoting cybersecurity, and raising the fences of economic protectionism via high customs duties, and the efforts made to secure the acquisition of vital minerals for advanced technological industries, in parallel to reduce spending – the extent of cancellation – on aid The different development of countries.
Bekin sees this as a ruling, an opportunity to enhance its global presence as an economic and development partner in the countries of the south in particular, and a motor for regional understandings and alliances, and to cooperate with all countries convinced of the benefits of engaging in the “Belt and Road” initiative. Little by little, China will quietly move towards converting the audience into geopolitical influence. Hence, for example, the “Global Security Initiative” launched by Xi Jinping on April 21, 2022, which aims to “support the principle of non -divided security, create a balanced, effective and sustainable security structure, and oppose the building of national security on the basis of insecurity in other countries.”
In fact, the current Chinese trends are not a mere reaction to immediate developments, but rather a fruit for a careful and planned work for nearly a quarter of a century, based on promoting soft power to improve China’s image on the international scene and increase its attractiveness, through cultural, economic and diplomatic tools. In addition to the “Belt and Road”, work is underway to promote Chinese culture, language and values. For example, we mention the “Confucius Institutes” that promote Chinese language and culture, and facilitate cultural exchange with countries.
Solid power
In parallel to soft power, China is working to build its solid power, as there is no in human history that is weavier in wars, a nation that has been able to advance to the lead centers without adopting a strong military arsenal; So the Popular Liberation Army has been undergoing and undergoing the Communist Party, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, to significant development and modernization. Perhaps what was achieved by the Chinese weapons of the Pakistani army in the recent confrontation between India and Pakistan is the best evidence of the development of the Chinese military industry.
The Chinese army today is the largest military force in the world, supported by the second largest defense budget after the American budget. Chinese military spending amounted to $ 314 billion in 2024, which represents 12 percent of global defense spending.
In the number of the army two million and 185 thousand soldiers, one million and 170 thousand reserve soldiers, and 660 thousand individuals in paramilitary forces, for the total number to be 4 million individuals. The Chinese Air Force includes 3300 warplanes, while the navy includes 787 pieces (including two aircraft holders) supported by 600 aircraft. The ground forces include more than two million individuals, supported by 7500 artillery pieces, about 5,000 tanks, and 2,400 ballistic missiles, in addition to 320 nuclear heads.
Most military experts agree that China is still lagging behind the military force of the United States by about two decades, but this does not mean that the yellow giant is unable to fight wars and extend influence, knowing that China only has one military base abroad, which is the djibouti base that was established in 2016. An facility in Cambodia is added, and talk about secret planning to create other bases outside the border.
The South China Sea and Taiwan Strait are the most prominent hotbeds of field tension in US -Chinese relations, and the latter is the most vulnerable to a military confrontation, in light of China’s adherence to the “restoration” of the island, which the United States stands against. Other potential tension areas include the Korean Peninsula, the East China Sea, and the Gulf of Thailand. In all these areas, regional demands, military positions, and strategic competition between the two countries overlap.
Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall on the unipolar of more than 3 decades, the world has become a mobility, but the movement of nations and countries indicate that this reality changes. China’s economic ascension will not stop, and competition with the United States will be more severe, and a day must come when China takes off silk gloves, with iron gloves.
