Is China a superpower?A superpower is a state that possesses great power ‘plus great mobility of power’. The
term superpower was coined to refer to the USA and the Soviet Union in the early Cold War
period. The features usually associated with a superpower include the following:
• They enjoy a leadership role in the international system and are able to impose their will on smaller states within their sphere of influence. • They possess enormous military resources, enabling them to project effective military power far from their territory. • Some argue that superpowers have a special responsibility to maintain international order and thus enjoy a privileged status in international forums. China’s status as a superpower depends on a number of considerations: • China can reasonably be described as an economic superpower, in view of its sustained very high levels of economic growth and the fact that it became the world’s leading exporter in 2009 as well as the world’s second largest economy in 2010. • Although China is the world’s second largest military spender and possesses the world’s largest army, it may not yet qualify as a military superpower as it does not have a proven capacity to project military power well beyond its territory. • China does not yet have a clear sphere of influence in the sense that the USA and the Soviet Union clearly did during the Cold War period. • There is uncertain evidence that China has accepted its superpower status in terms of being willing to shoulder responsibility for maintaining international order. |
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