China’s Peaceful Rise to Dominance The current state of the globe has seen many changes in the past few decades. The global political structures have shifted and turned to provide a new landscape where substantial evolution has and will continue to occur. The purpose of this essay is to argue and prove that China will rise to power in a peaceful manner throughout the 21st century. This paper will first explain the current situation, which has left China in position to become a global leader as the new century unfolds. The essay will also examine military, economic and social issues that may positively contribute to this change and lead this Asian country to a new significant posture within the geo-political realm of international relations.
The Rise of China towards the 21st Century Technology and communication improvements have changed the world for good. With new developments in these areas, the world has become much smaller and navigable in many ways when discussing China and their current rise to global prominence in recent times. The end of the Cold War which saw a bipolar world develop into a unipolar world has created opportunity for other powerful nations to step in and play a key role in global events that are unfolding. China’s massive population and natural resources have continued to organize and be directed towards more powerful means. Chinese leaders have seen this coming for years as the country began opening up to global interests in the 1970’s. As America’s place in the world has changed, leaders have grown confident that a new paradigm can exist where a peaceful rise of this country is likely and for the betterment of the rest of the world. As Lynch (155 ) points out, this “peaceful rise” is experienced between 1996-2008, “Beijing struck a generally less belligerent pose— especially in Southeast Asia— in an effort to reassure the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries (and certain others) that, guided by a “new security concept” stressing cooperation among states in the pursuit of common objectives, China would rise peacefully and play a constructive role in building a harmonious region and world.” This new approach can be better understood when examining key ideas from international relations studies that may be applied in this case.
Economic Factors Economic factors play a substantial role in how China can indeed rise to global dominance in a peaceful manner. The world’s interdependence on each other has placed this country in a unique position where it actually can bring about a sensible order through economic maneuvering. This economic growth began during the 1970’s when China began focusing on maritime activities to expand their reach throughout the globe. It has been explained that this has been of great advantage for China during recent times, and its expansion into shipping and sea travel have combined to allow for this growth. He argued “China today has 2, 010 ships that fly the national flag and in service on international routes, plus another 1, 639 that are registered abroad, for a total merchant marine of 3, 649 ships; it is now #3in the world, exceeded only by Panama,” (Dooley 56). This naval growth is instrumental in the economic evolution of this country. Other economic factors also play a large role in China’s ability to control world events. The Western banking system and its confusing and often suspect methods of controlling nations has started to fade, and the global economic crisis of 2008 catapulted China into a new realm of global power. China’s size and its ability to recently meld with the West has allowed the country to grow to a dominant force. Lynch explained, “Yin calculates that the United States produced 33 percent of the world’s goods and services in the year 2000 but only 22 percent in 2010. He calculates that the U.S. contribution to global growth in 2010 (he does not discuss global growth in 2000) was “only around 10 percent,” which put the United States “very far behind China” (Yin Chengde. (2011) cited in Lynch, 176). This has been a very fast and extreme improvement for China and the Chinese people have enjoyed a sustained increase in quality of life during this current period.
Military Issues Peaceful coexistence on the world stage requires that adequate military defensive requirements be met. The sheer size of China’s army expresses a very militaristic culture that appears to have a numbers advantage over any nation’s challenge to their military power. Although developing, China’s other military capabilities such as air and sea power, lack behind other Western powers, they are quickly catching up to the rest of the world and China’s military may in fact be unstoppable in many aspects. China’s political stature in the world has grown as well in recent years as it has become more and more of a large player on the global scene. As a result, powerful allies such as Iran and Russia have placed this country in a very favorable spot. Siding with Iran places them in a unique spot viewed from American or Western interests. Harold (65) explained, “China seeks to maximize the benefits of its cooperation with Iran and to minimize the costs of its compliance with the sanctions regime.” These unique relationships throughout the world have given China the ability to use military leverage over other Western countries that have historically dominated the globe since modern history.
A Peaceful Rise China does indeed pose a very serious and immediate threat to the rest of the world that is not prepared to see a shift in this balance of power. China is unique in many ways and to suggest they can take over the world in a non-violent, or peaceful manner seems very much within their capabilities and intentions. China as a country and as a region has different cultural values than the West in many aspects. Although the Chinese people are very familiar with war and violence, this does not mean that this particular rise in power will follow suit, as the current global situation is much different today than at any other time in history. China has demonstrated patience and compassion during its rise in the last 40 years in challenging both Western ideals and rules. This oriental means of waiting and letting the enemy make mistakes also contributes to the idea that any off the cuff violent measure will be avoided by China. The beginning of the 21st century has witnessed the Western powers led by America fooled into many wars to a great detriment. By sitting back and allowing the USA and its allies destroy itself from the inside out contributes to the notion, that China can and most likely will act peacefully in its international agreements and discussions. There is no need for China to be aggressive in a world where success is likely by not acting or reacting towards these happenings.
Conclusion
The current geo-political world is very tumultuous and uncertain in many aspects. China’s ability to manage their economic matters in accordance with these changes has provided them a unique opportunity on the world stage to become a leader. China’s history as a patient and opportunistic group of people also plays into the idea that a peaceful assumption of power is occurring and will continue to occur as these factors continue to influence the world and its political events. It seems unavoidable that a rise in Chinese power through non-violent means is inevitable.

Works Cited
Note: The Lynch book referenced was the Kindle version that offered “locations” not page numbers. The pages numbers listed are approximations. The two specific locations respectively: location 3220 and location 3603.

Dooley, Howard J. "The Great Leap Outward: China's Maritime Renaissance." The Journal of East Asian Affairs (2012): 53-76.
Harold, Scott W. "Opportunistic Cooperation under Constraints: Non-Proliferation, Energy Trade, and the Evolution of Chinese Policy towards Iran." The Chinese Journal of International Politics (2014): pou048.
Lynch, Daniel. China's Future: PRC Elites Debate Economics, Politics, and Foreign Policy. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. 2015.
Yin Chengde. “The global financial crisis and new changes in world structure”. International Studies 2011 (2), pp. 38– 45.