ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: The Diplomat
05April2011 3:00amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Assessing China’s domestic achievements and reviewing the international lay of the land last October, President Hu Jintao declared to the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee that the country was still in a period of ‘strategic opportunity.' Almost six months later, and it’s clear from the latest defence white paper that military planners agree.
The paper, released Thursday, places significant emphasis on the importance of China’s growing economic prowess. There is inevitably the familiar lament over US arms sales to Taiwan, the United States’ involvement in the Asia-Pacific and the reinforcement of US military alliances in the region. But the watchword in what is an extremely upbeat assessment of the country’s national strength is ‘economy.’ This isn’t to say that China isn’t fully aware of the perceived threat that its unprecedented economic growth has created – it’s clear from the paper and elsewhere that it is. But it’s also hardly surprising that China is feeling ever more confident after successfully weathering the turbulent economic waters that the global economy has faced in recent years. (read full report)
