The Handbook of Global Security Policy

Chapter 21 China

May-Britt U. Stumbaum and Sun Xuefeng

Introduction

“China is a sleeping giant. And if it awakes, the world will tremble” – these words, assigned to Napoleon Bonaparte, describe well the process that the international system is currently experiencing: the rise of a power that, by its sheer size and accumulated economic power, is increasingly impacting international affairs and has started to co- and re-shape the forms of interaction in international initiatives to address today's challenges. Reading the Chinese Concept Paper on the New Security Notion (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, 2002), the key threats mentioned resemble those acknowledged in the European Security Strategy and in national security documents such as the United States', the British, the French or the German White Papers and security strategies. With China (PRC) being located in an environment that is characterized still by unresolved border and territorial disputes, as well as a very low level of regional integration, perceived security threats are still dominated by traditional threats, although nontraditional threats ranging from terrorism to climate change and pandemics also play a role. Yet, China remains a special case, not only because of its unprecedented development and its potential impact on changing the international system. China also represents a country that faces rapid change and expansion of its security concerns alongside its impressive economic ...