China's Quest for Military Supremacy

By: Joel Wuthnow and Phillip C. Saunders

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Synopsis: China’s military has entered a new era. It has acquired modern weapons to rival the world’s finest, undergone a massive restructuring under Xi Jinping, and been on the frontlines of territorial disputes with Japan, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It is readying forces to be able to seize Taiwan sometime in the next decade. It aims to be a “world-class” military on par with the United States. China’s Quest for Military Supremacy provides a broad and accessible exploration of Chinese military power, including relations between the Chinese Communist Party and its army, the strategic worldview of Chinese leaders, military strategy and resourcing, conventional and nuclear modernization, military diplomacy and coercion, preparations for war, and the People’s Liberation Army’s emerging global role. It also identifies the challenges facing China’s military and shows how its focus on supremacy in the region means that it is not yet prepared to fight with the same lethality beyond Asia. Different futures are possible, and the book concludes with a preview of what it might take for a truly “world-class” Chinese military to take the global stage.