How the People’s Republic of China Rivals the United States of America as a Global SuperpowerDonn Matthew GarbyFlagler College8 March 2014

What is a Superpower?• “An extremely powerful nation, especially one capable of influencing international events and the acts and policies of

less powerful nations.”

Superpower• Phrase first coined in 1944• Used to describe a nation who mastered the seven dimensions

of state power:• Geography• Population• Economy• Resources• Military• Diplomacy• National Identity

First Superpowers• Right after World War II:• The United States of America (1944-)• The Soviet Union (1944-1991)• The British Empire (1944-1965)

Clash Between Past Superpowers (The Cold War)

• The United States of America and the Soviet Union opposed each other ideologically, politically, militarily, and economically

• The Soviet Union supported communism and a one-party state while the United States of America supported a free market and liberal democracy

Clash Between Past Superpowers(The Cold War)

• Led to the Cold War (1947-1991)• Began at the Yalta Conference when the “Big Three”

decided on five major actions that would define the post-World War II era:

• The dividing up of Germany• The formation of the United Nations • German war reparations• The entry of Soviet forces in Japan • The future of Poland• At this conference the United States Secretary of State, Edward

Stettinius, proposed a "Declaration of Liberated Europe" which the United States of America would later use to claim that the Soviet Union broke its agreement by virtue of its actions in Eastern Europe

End of the Cold War• Moon landing was considered the defeat of the Soviet Union • Formally ended when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991

21st Century• Scholars saw 20th century as “America’s Century”• Won both World Wars• Reached superpower status• Largest economy in the world

• Estimates that 21st century will be “China’s Century”• Growing military power• Potential superpower• Growing economy

State Power• Defined as the power to influence the behavior of people in a

nation.• Seven dimensions

State Power(The People’s Republic of China)

• People’s Republic of China has practiced communism• In a communist state, there are a very few elite who control

and run the government and the rest of the population is forced to obey and listen to every law that they pass

• Population of the People’s Republic of China now reaching 1,349,585,838 the government must act efficiently in order to remain in power and to control social order.

State Power(The People’s Republic of China)

• Since 1949, there have been protests to rid the country of the communist party

• Most famous: Tiananmen Square Massacre, on April 18th, 1989• Thousands of students lined the streets to rid the country of the

communist party• After three weeks of protests the government ordered the

military to fire into the crowd killing thousands of citizens

State Power(The United States of America)• The United States of America is a Federal Republic• A government without a monarch and with a separation

between the central government and the individual state governments

• The Constitution continues to be the ultimate “law of the land” in the United States of America and it is the amendments on that parchment that keeps order and peace inside the country

State Power(The United States of America)• Citizens have lined up and protested for woman’s rights, civil

rights, gay rights, etc.• Current protest: Occupy Wall Street• Protesters occupy in order to fight against the system that allows

the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer• Protest been going on for almost three years, minimal arrests

First Dimension: Geography(The People’s Republic of China)

• Country is approximately 3,705,407 square miles • The third largest country• The larger a country, the large one’s population is, as well as

military, economy, and world power• Bordered fourteen separate countries

First Dimension: Geography(The People’s Republic of China)

• With the population steadily rising in the People’s Republic of China, many scholars believe that the government is going to have to take measures to acquire more land in order to house all the citizens

• A growing geography would mean more political influence in Asia as well as more economic and military influence around the world

First Dimension: Geography(The United States of America)• The United States of America is currently the fourth largest

country in the world and controls 3,704, 392 square miles• 50 states and 6 territories• If you incorporate the territories into the geography of the

United States it actually controls 3,805,943 square making it the third largest country

First Dimension: Geography(The United States of America)• Only bordered by two foreign nations• Political and cultural influence on bordering nations• No room to expand land in the mainland of the country

although new territories could always be acquired

Second Dimension: Population(The People’s Republic of China)

• Largest population in the world• In 2013, the People’s Republic of China had a population of

about 1,349,585,838 citizens or about one sixth percent of the world’s population

Second Dimension: Population(The People’s Republic of China)

• 1979 they enacted the policy that is now known as the “One-Child Policy.” • Controversial policy• Allows each couple to only have one child unless the first one is a

female• Abortion numbers (forced and by choice) have risen• New policy enacted in November 2013 allows couples to have

two children if one parent is an only child

Second Dimension: Population(The United States of America)• In 2013 the United States of America had a population of

approximately 314,000,000 million people• The population of the United States of America is large

enough so businesses can flow properly without much unemployment

Second Dimension: Population(The United States of America)• The fertility rate of the United States of America is about two

point one percent, which means there is a very minimal population increase each year

• Largest population increase comes from immigration• Population increase is 0.9% and 0.6% comes from immigration

Third Dimension: Economy(The People’s Republic of China)

• Has the second largest economy in the world • 2013 GDP of 14.96 trillion dollars• The fastest growing economy in the world at a growth of 7.8%

each year

Third Dimension: Economy(The People’s Republic of China)

• Statement released by the Chinese government:• “According to the plan, the socialist market economy will be

further improved by 2010, and by 2020 a comparatively mature socialist market economy structure will have been established in China”

Third Dimension: Economy(The United States of America)• The largest economy in the world• 2013 GDP of 16.724 trillion

Third Dimension: Economy(The United States of America)• The key to success in the American economic market is free

trade• The amount of business started in the United States of

America has reached over 600,000 per year• Minimal government involvement historically, but recently a

strong grip by the government in terms of healthcare and minimum wage

Fourth Dimension: Resources(The People’s Republic of China)

• Not enough resources for its people• One of the reasons that the People’s Republic of China does

not have enough resources to provide for all their people is because their population is too large

Fourth Dimension: Resources(The People’s Republic of China)

• Government purchasing foreign farm land in order to gain enough resources to provide

• The prices for natural resources has steadily risen in the People’s Republic of China because of scarcity

Fourth Dimension: Resources(The United States of America)• Abundance of resources for its people• The population has also not increased as much as the People’s

Republic of China and land has not been depleted as quickly

Fourth Dimension: Resources(The United States of America)• The United States of America is able to provide enough food

for its citizens in times of peace, war, and disaster and be able to provide food and monetary aid to countries that experience a disaster

• It is foreign aid that helps the United States of America retain its superpower status

Fifth Dimension: Military Power(The People’s Republic of China)

• Active personnel number of 2,285,000 soldiers and another 800,000

• Largest military in the world• The country has another 618,588,627 citizens fit for service in

the country

Fifth Dimension: Military Power(The People’s Republic of China)

• Total military budget: $ 129,272,000,000 • Land-based vehicles: 56,750• Aircrafts: 5,048 • Naval power: 972

Fifth Dimension: Military Power(The United States of America)

• Active personnel number of 1,477,896 with an addition of 1,458,500 on reserve

• Second largest military in the world

Fifth Dimension: Military Power(The United States of America)

• Total military budget: $ 689,591,000,000 • Land-based vehicles: 31,919 • Aircrafts: 15,293 • Naval power: 708

Sixth Dimension: Diplomacy(The People’s Republic of China)

• The People’s Republic of China has taken a domestic approach at diplomacy with little regard to international affairs

• Has tried to become an active player in the international arena with less confrontation, more confident and well thought out plans, and more constructive approaches to both internal and external affairs

Sixth Dimension: Diplomacy(The People’s Republic of China)

• Most notable act of diplomacy between another country and the People’s Republic of China is North Korea• Intercepting ships• Criticized North Korea for continuing nuclear tests• Urged them to move towards denuclearization

Sixth Dimension: Diplomacy(The United States of America)• Has had strong diplomatic ties with foreign nations for many

decades• Built bonds with nations that would help make great allies, but

also help provide the United States of America with oil, crops, and other necessities

Sixth Dimension: Diplomacy(The United States of America)• Strongest relationship that the United States of America has

with any country is with Great Britain, which it is said to have a “special relationship”

• The two militaries train together and vital information is often passed between the two governments

Seventh Dimension: National Identity(The People’s Republic of China)

• The citizens of the People’s Republic of China have had a growing positive feeling of national identity

• Studies done in 2013 show that about ninety percent of citizens are proud of their government and about eighty five percent of the citizens support the Communist Party of China

Seventh Dimension: National Identity(The People’s Republic of China)

• This strong increase of national identity is mostly due to the fact that the government has allowed more free trade and investment in the economy

• This allows citizens to have more control on their financial situation and also starts to create a class system in the government

Seventh Dimension: National Identity(The United States of America)

• Citizens of the United States of America have had a strong sense of national identity

• Since the Revolutionary War the citizens of the United States of America have shown strong patriotism towards the country and what it stood for

Seventh Dimension: National Identity(The United States of America)

• In modern times, Americans still strongly support the idea of freedom and equality, the “American Dream”

• Low support of national government• Due mainly to the fact that the revolutionaries fought against

a strong government and provided a country that offered freedom from prosecution of a large and powerful government

Reflection• First Dimension: The People’s Republic of China has met the

requirements, but is at risk of losing it because of a growing population

• Second Dimension: The People’s Republic of China has met the requirements, but is at risk of losing it because of the controversial birth control

• Third Dimension: The People’s Republic of China has met the requirements

Reflection• Fourth Dimension: The People’s Republic of China has not met

the requirements because of lack of resources• Fifth Dimension: The People’s Republic of China has met the

requirements• Sixth Dimension: The People’s Republic of China has not met

the requirements, but is on its way to doing so• Seventh Dimension: The People’s Republic of China has met

the requirements

Conclusion• As the century moves forward we will see if the People’s

Republic of China will become a superpower• Still has some requirements to fulfill• The country is definitely a strong rival for the United States of

America and may soon become the next superpower, thus ending what is now called as a “unipolar” world with the United States of America being the only strong power with no competition.

Work Cited• "Americans Prefer Lower Immigration Numbers."

NumbersUSA. 2008. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.• Bajoria, Jayshree, and Beina Xu. "The China-North Korea

Relationship." Council on Foreign Relations. 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.

• Briney, Amanda. "Geography of Countries Bordering China." About Education, Web. 8 Feb. 2014.

• “China’ Through a Lens” China.org Web 9 Feb. 2014

Work Cited• "China." Heritage.org. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.• "China." The World Factbook. CIA, Web. 8 Feb. 2014.• "Countries of the World by Area." Nations Online. Web. 07

Feb. 2014.• Daigneault, Todd. "The Influence of the United States on

Canadian Culture." Life Paths. 30 Jan. 2010. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.

Work Cited• Darwin, John. "Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of

Empire." BBC, 03 Mar. 2011. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.• "Global Firepower - 2013 World Military Strength Ranking."

Global Firepower - 2013 World Military Strength Ranking. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.

• Jian, Ma. "China's Brutal One-Child Policy." The New York Times. 21 May 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.

• Kramer, Mattea. "How Much Foreign Aid Does the U.S. Give Away?" Nationalpriorities.org. 6 May 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.

Work Cited• Merriam-Webster, Print. 07 Feb. 2014• Medeiros, Evan S., and M. T. Fravel. "China's New Diplomacy."

Foreign Affairs. Nov.-Dec. 2003. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.• "Occupy Together | Home." Occupy Together. Web. 07 Feb.

2014.• Olcott, Martha B. "China's Unmatched Influence in Central

Asia." 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.

Work Cited• "Report Shows Strong National Identity among Chinese." 8

Oct. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.• "Starting a Business: The Idea Phase." Entrepreneur Web. 9

Feb. 2014.• Stone, Dan. "Why China Wants (and Needs) Foreign Farm

Land." National Geographic. 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.• "The Constitution Is the Supreme Law of the Land."

Linecamp.com. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.

Work Cited• "The Land of China." Oracle Thinkquest. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.• "The Population of the United States of America." About

Geography. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.• This Day in History. History Channel, Web. 8 Feb. 2014.• "Timeline of the Cold War." Oracle Thinkquest. Web. 8 Feb.

2014.

Work Cited• "U.S. vs. China: Battle to Be the Largest Economy in the

World." Investopedia. 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.• Watts, Jonathan. "China's Ability to Feed Its People

Questioned by UN Experts." The Guardian. 23 Dec. 2010. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.

• Weigel, David, and Lauren Hepler. "A Timeline of the Movement, from February to Today." Slate. Web. 07 Feb. 2014

• Wong, Edward. "Reports of Forced Abortions Fuel Push to End Chinese Law." The New York Times. 22 July 2012. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.

Work Cited• Woolner, David. "The "Special Relationship" Between Great

Britain and the United States Began with FDR." Roosevelt Institute. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.

• "World Bank Group." World Bank Group. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.• "Yalta: The Beginning of the End." Oracle Thinkquest. Web. 8

Feb. 2014.