| What China had never done before or what China does not have before is currently obvious in China today. China’s current capability to do what it can’t do in the past had raised China to another level in its history. Today China stands along the lines of great powers in terms of its economy, military, technology and also politically thus China’s rapid progress is summed up in two words,"China’s rise". Having undertaken this research analysis through qualitative and quantitative methods and gathering information through literature review, participant observation, media analysis and open discussions and interviews, the content of paper is summarized as per below.Historically, China has been a center of civilization in the region and also in the world. It has a history which connects back to its earlier civilizations which recorded for around5000years ago. The country was referred at that period of time as the "Middle Kingdom" or in Chinese,"Zhong guo". However the continuous evolution of history changes the global order thus China had gone through a tough and difficult situations of time till its inauguration in1949as the People’s Republic of China. After PRC’s inauguration, Mao’s two ideological movements, the Great Leap Forward and the Great Cultural Revolution had unfortunately failed, however this movements had given opportunity for new ideas to soil out from within the country. Deng Xiaoping managed to deposit his ideology for the country thus adopting the reform and opening up policy which was enforced in1978. The policy has enabled China’s opening up and engagement with the international community.The reform and opening up policy has been the basis for China’s progress and great achievement which is obviously seen today. China has gone through a process of rapid transformation economically, politically, militarily and technologically. The boom is China’s economy has resulted in China’s being the second largest economy in the world, serving as an economic hub in the East Asian region and a focal point for International trade and investments. As a result of China’s huge economic wealth, it has catered to increase its defense budget and modernize its military capabilities. Today, China’s military buildup has been questioned by many of its neighboring countries and thus a focus of many academic and military discussions today. China’s technological advancement has been forefront in many innovations, and this has contributed much to the improvement of China’s infrastructures, employment opportunities, the welfare and living standard of people and furthermore it boost the morale of the people in having the sense that their country has achieved the knowledge that was far from them in the past decades. However the underlining factor for all the achievement that China achieved over the past years to this present is the will and determination of the Chinese people themselves. Chinese people are hardworking, better off in savings, and are strongly determined in all they do to achieve their goals and objectives. Combining all these indicators of China’s great achievement, the concept of "China rise" or the "rise of China" has been surfaced into the open. Simply put it, all the above indicators have appropriately defined the rise of China in terms of capability. China responded humbly that its rise will be peaceful and will not cause any disturbance to the International order. China therefore defined its continuous progress as "peaceful rise" or "peaceful development".China’s progresses from the various aspects that are mentioned briefly above have led to much suspiciousness from the other countries as to what are the intentions of China for its so called "peaceful rise". However China continue to assure the international community including the East Asian region that its rise is going hand in hand with its foreign policy and its continuous rise is aiming at achieving its goal of a harmonious society or harmonious world. China’s continuous progress also resulted in the creation of this foreign concept "China threat", a concept whereby academics or even Statesmen foresee that the rise of China is posing a threat to the International order, and also to the East Asian region. They used the realist assumptions and other relevant theories to substantiate their arguments labeled against China’s rise. The liberalists on the other hand saw that China’s rise has created a great opportunity for the International community and also for the East Asian region through economic incentives, International trade and other economic Integrations such as free trades areas (FTAs). The constructivists used identity for peaceful coexistence among China and the East Asian region. Being the unique people of the region and with a common identity such the Asians or the ASEAN way for instance has enabled countries in the East Asian region to see themselves as a big integrated family with one identity. This helps maintain peace and stability in the region and can avoid any threat or conflict sprouted from within.The most important question then follows, what will be the outcome of China’s rise in the future in the region? This research concluded that China’s rise in terms of security will not lead to war however it will encounter some strong challenges that lead to the use of its power of deterrent or show of force. With due respect to China’s economic benefits from the United States and vice versa, these two countries cannot engage in any future wars. China’s engagement with the International community through all multilateral and bilateral agreement can also obliged China not to use force to solve any of its disputes and problems pertaining to its core national interests. China’s military buildup on the other hand is a form of deterrent that China will use to safeguard its national interest and territories. China does not establish any alliance system in the region which can pose a direct threat to the United States and its allies. In an event that China tend to establish alliances with other countries in the region, the tendency to challenge the United States alliance is high thus can lead to future confrontation.Economically, China’s rise is providing advantages and will continue to benefit neighboring countries in the region through international trade and, financial assistance through development aids and investments. China’s big market will enable China to absorb imports from these said countries, thus boosting their respective economic growths. China’s current economic growth will also surpass that of the United States in the near future if the latter’s economy is still suffering from its current economic crises. Politically and ideologically, China’s rise will regain her status as a Middle kingdom where many states will look upon China for assistance and economic partnership through bilateral trade and investment, however China on the hand other hand cannot rule this region by exerting influence on the countries in the region in terms of political ideologies and over its national interests. In this context, until and unless China changed its foreign policy, it will not pose any threat to the region. Technologically, China’s continues engagement with many cutting edges technological innovation will enabled China to create more advanced technological products in the future, thus lessening its imports of intermediate products from the other advanced technological countries in the region. In the final analysis, China’s relations with the countries in the region will be cordial in the future despite the existing difference and historical memories that are still preserved in the hearts of a few concerned states. The benefits from integration in the region will be the basis for the peaceful coexistence of the countries in the region; therefore conflict will always be avoided by the shadow of economic prosperity which is provided by the region’s ongoing cooperation. |
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