China's Military Power
Assessing Current and Future Capabilities

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the Chinese military in 2000 and 2010, with projections for 2020.

Roger Cliff (Author)

9781107103542, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 September 2015

376 pages, 48 b/w illus. 4 maps 10 tables
23.6 x 15.7 x 2.2 cm, 0.73 kg

'At the heart of Cliff's book is an assessment of who would win if a war broke out between the US and China in this region … As befits his background as a defence analyst, the scenarios [he] presents are complex and highly detailed …' Howard W. French, London Review of Books

Once termed the 'world's largest military museum', the Chinese military has made enormous progress over the past twenty years. With skyrocketing military budgets and new technology, China's tanks, aircraft, destroyers, and missile capabilities are becoming comparable to those of the United States. If these trends continue, how powerful will the Chinese military be in the future? Will its capabilities soon rival or surpass those of the United States? The most comprehensive study of its kind, this book provides a detailed assessment of China's military capabilities in 2000 and 2010 with projections for 2020. It is the first of its kind in outlining a rigorous, theoretically and empirically grounded framework for assessing military capability based on not just weaponry but also doctrine, training, equipment, and organizational structure. This framework provides not only the most accurate assessment of China's military to date but an important new tool in the study of military history.

1. Introduction
2. Doctrine
3. Organizational structure
4. Weaponry
5. Personnel
6. Training
7. Logistics
8. Organizational culture
9. Scenario analysis
10. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS]