China's Rise as Economic and Strategic Power

Prof. Gautam Sen

Distinguished Fellow, PPF

The spectacular rise of China is of global concern geo-strategically, impact on the International Political Economy and even on global power equation. The Chinese financial investments under the Belt and Route program have already started making nation states fall in debt traps. Chinese deployment of skilled manpower around the world has reached an alarming level. Hence it will be folly to underestimate China’s political leadership and their ambitions to make China great again and reinstate the validity of the “Middle Kingdom” as the centre piece of their strategic outlook with a view to replacing Russia and become the second superpower. Apart from economic, technological, infrastructural, and international outreach strategy to dominate the countries in South and Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East, AI is a central driver in the calculus of power for President Xi  to achieve the world status of a superpower. China is well ahead to compete for if not the poor second position but certainly the third most advanced country in manned space programs, deep space related research, quantum communication, maritime technology, aviation industry and is simultaneously developing a “Think Tank” culture to develop the required soft power in international diplomacy but also employ the best of her manpower for providing policy oriented documents and facilitate the Chinese leadership to formulate her strategic and global policies to achieve her ultimate aim as stated above. Today China has 1413 think tanks with US having 2203 think tanks and India with 612 think tanks at the third spot

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