Napoleon Bonaparte famously remarked, “China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world.” He said this at the start of the Industrial Revolution, when some economic estimates suggest that China had only recently ceased to be the largest economy in the world, a place it occupied from 1100 to 1800 AD. The 21st Century sees the People’s Republic of China poised to regain that global distinction, armed with an all-encompassing economic, strategic and military vision to restore it to what it views as its historically rightful place as the “Middle Kingdom,” the hub of the global economy and a superpower in its own right. As the Philippines seeks to pursue its national interest vis-à-vis China, it is useful to take a look at key concepts and developments in Chinese policy toward the region and the world.
Page Design: Ralph Bagares
Editor: Manolo Quezon
Research: Ana Roa, Kathleen De Villa, Kate Pedroso, and Minerva Generalao
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