Commentary
The United States is the world’s No. 1 military power, while China is No. 3. To catch up with the United States, China will need to maintain a certain level of economic growth. However, given the slowing economy and the demographic challenge, the Carnegie Foundation expects China’s long-term GDP growth not to exceed 2–3 percent.
“The world is entering a new age of warfare, one in which the integration of technology, concepts, partners and systems—more than fleet size alone —will determine victory in conflict,” according to the Chief of Naval Operations Navigation Plan Update, published on July 26, 2022.
While the rest of the world is raising its interest rates to rein in inflation, the People’s Bank of China cut the interest rate for five-year business loans as well as mortgage rates in a desperate attempt to stimulate a stagnating economy. China faces 20.8 percent youth unemployment, declining exports, growing debt, and slower economic growth. Meanwhile, the population is aging. Last year, deaths outnumbered births. The slowing economy and graying population may derail the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military ambitions….