Lecture Abstract:
China’s military modernisation has progressed quickly in tandem with the country’s rise to prominence. Defence spending has increased by two digits annually for 20 years, with China currently the world’s second largest spender on military expenditure. These trends look to continue for the foreseeable future as China adds dozens of missile, war planes, naval ships every year. Its military activities are likewise increasing in the West Pacific and, to a smaller extent, in other parts of the world.
However, China’s security strategy and thinking have not changed. Its security interests are still national defence, not seeking any regional nor global security role. It is still insisting on a “non-alliance” foreign policy, meaning it will not take any responsibility in defending other countries. China’s leadership continues to stress that it has no intention to engage in any arms race. Further, its security interests are still focused only on national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
About the Speaker:
CHU Shulong is currently a Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the School of Public Policy and Management and is the director of the Institute of International Strategic and Development Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He is also a Professor at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Party School and an advisor to China’s Central Television (CCTV) international reporting, Director of the Center for Northeast Asian Studies of Dalian University of Foreign Languages. He was previously director for the North American Studies Division of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR). He was a senior visiting fellow at the Center for U.S.-China Relations of New York University in January 2013, at the Brookings Institution in 2006-2007, and the East-West Center in 2001. Dr. Chu’s major areas of research are international relations, US foreign strategy and China policy, the Sino-US relations, and China’s foreign and security strategies. His most recent publications include The Sino-US Relations in the Post-Cold War Era; Basic Theories of International Relations; China’s Foreign Strategy and Policy, and American Government and Politics (three volumes).