China's security agenda after the Cold War

Abstract

The end of the cold war has changed China's basic perception of world politics and its conception of national security. Beijing's security strategy after the cold war is redefined by its domestic priorities, growing foreign economic relations, the new security environment in Asia, and concerns over territorial disputes. The pre-Cold War conception of security based on war and peace is fading away. China's growing economic ties with the outside world have redirected Beijing's attention to economic interests and security. The Chinese leadership realizes that its security is affected by the military forces of other countries and political, economic, societal, and environmental factors in international relations. Beijing needs to employ both traditional military defence and non-military actions to safeguard its territorial integrity and to realize its full capacity in world affairs. The purpose of this paper is to analyze China's security agendas after the cold war. It examines the impact of the end of the cold war on China's thinking on national security, then discusses Beijing's threat perception and changing defence strategy. This is followed by an examination of domestic stability considerations and economic interests in Beijing's security strategy. It discusses the implications of China's growing power for regional security. -from Author