On September 3 a massive military parade was held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing which showcased the military prowess of China, including the unveiling of the DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which reportedly has a range of over 20,000 km. This could make it the longest-ranged missile in the world. The parade held to commemorate the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in its war against Japanese aggression undoubtedly indicated China’s march towards achieving the number one position as military and economic power in the near future. President Xi flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, inspected the parade.
While recounting the history of China’s rise and fight against aggression and the level of development achieved by the country, he emphatically declared that China was unstoppable. He was right on the money to make this claim. China is indeed unstoppable now in its quest to become the number one economic and military power with the commitment to follow the path of peaceful development and work with the rest of the world to build a shared future for humanity, a narrative opposed to the western philosophy of political and economic dominance of the world. The secret to the exponential rise in the economic and military prowess of China lies in the emergence of visionary leaders like Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping.
There are two kinds of leaders; the men who are born to create history and the others who are catapulted into the leadership role by history. It is the first category of leaders whose vision and initiatives lift the countries from the vicious circle of poverty and shape their future as world leaders.
Deng Xiaoping was the leader who was born to create history. His vision to evolve China’s own version of socialism characterized by openness with a clear cut goal of putting China on the road to sustainable development and improving the lives of the people has worked wonders. China over the four decades has become the number two economic power of the world, poised to play a major role on the economic and political stage at the global level. Economists and political analysts believe that China would be the number one economic power of the world by 2050 and the indications are that no matter what the USA and its allies do to obstruct that process, it has become unstoppable in achieving that distinction.
Over the last 40 years the GDP of China has been expanding at an average rate of 9.5 percent, a phenomenal rate. The result is that China now accounts for 30 percent of global GDP. The reforms set in train in 1978 were premised on special economic zones in several provinces; introduction of the household responsibility system that allowed households to contract land, machinery and other facilities from collective organizations; the consolidation of state-owned enterprises and accession to WTO in 2001. These policies boosted foreign investments exponentially besides encouraging entrepreneurship. The willingness of the Chinese leaders to implement pragmatic and impregnable economic policies enabled the country to escape the poverty trap and gave its 800 million people upper-middle class income status.
China’s rise to number two economic power has not only benefitted China and its people but it has also helped many countries of the world in improving their economic profile through investments made by China. It is reportedly the third biggest source of foreign investments. In 2024 China’s outbound non-financial direct investment reached over $84.5 billion, with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) alone seeing $51 billion in investments and $70.7 billion in construction contracts. Overall, the BRI’s cumulative engagement since 2013 has surpassed $1.175 trillion. Technology, manufacturing, media, and mining are leading sectors for outbound investment, while Asia remains the top recipient region for Chinese direct investment. The economic strength enabled China to dilute the impact of the financial crisis in Asia in 1997 as well as at the global level during 2008-9.
The BRI initiative launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013 aims to connect China with Asia, Europe and Africa via land and development of sea-based infrastructure and manifests its economic prowess to propel global development through partnership and connectivity with an explicit aim of shared global prosperity.
Notwithstanding the US hostility toward BRI and Indian opposition to CPEC, it is an irrefutable reality that China is destined to lead the world within the next two decades as its economic prowess and future potential amply suggest. Connectivity has become the buzz word of the 21st century which has turned the tide against those who are vying to protect their vested global interests and resist the change.
The fact that more than 150 countries and international organizations have signed agreements on Belt and Road cooperation with China amply demonstrates the faith of the participating countries and multilateral organizations in the BRI initiative and its potential to give the world a new global economic order predicated on participation and shared economic prosperity. The much awaited re-awakening of the East has come forth in the shape of BRI.
However the BRI initiative also has its detractors and opponents like the USA and some of its western allies who perceive it as a threat to the global economic order which promotes their vested interests. They are taking all possible measures to stop China from gaining the status of number one economic power of the world with a greater political role on the world stage. The US trade war with China is one of the manifestations of the malice and grudge that they harbour against China but it will harm them more than the latter. Their economies have reached a point of saturation while China still has a vast potential to increase its economic prowess. That will benefit the countries participating in the BRI initiative because it is not only a global factory for producing goods and services for exports but is also a global market for other countries with ever expanding horizons. China is vying for removal of trade barriers and is willing to lower tariffs as well as removal of non-tariff barriers to meet ever-growing material and cultural needs of its people by giving them more choices and benefits.
The USA has found a willing partner in India to do its bidding to check burgeoning Chinese influence in the region and beyond. The USA and India are vying to sabotage CPEC, a pivotal project of BRI which aims at regional connectivity and shared regional prosperity. However in spite of covert and overt Indian actions to sabotage CPEC, both China and Pakistan have urged India to join it earnestly believing that Indian participation would not only help in exploiting the regional economic potential for shared prosperity but would also benefit India immensely. But unfortunately the Indian leaders remain oblivious to the benefits of CPEC blinded by their designs to establish hegemony in the region.
However notwithstanding the US hostility toward BRI and Indian opposition to CPEC, it is an irrefutable reality that China is destined to lead the world within the next two decades as its economic prowess and future potential amply suggest. Connectivity has become the buzz word of the 21st century which has turned the tide against those who are vying to protect their vested global interests and resist the change.
