Chinese strategic thought

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Chinese strategic thought consists of concepts of statecraft in both traditional and modern China. China has had a long history of statecraft. One of the most famous thinkers in traditional Chinese thinking is Sun Tzu who lived during the period of the Warring States. The Chinese language has a very rich vocabulary for describing political and military strategies. When taken in the framework of Western international relations theory, Chinese strategic thought may best be described as realist rather than liberal, cognitive, etc.

Modern Chinese strategic thought consists of an amalgam of traditional Chinese strategic thinking, Marxism, and indigenous influences, in addition to concepts such as the revolution in military affairs. Chinese papers written about political or military strategy generally contain a unique mix of the modern and the traditional with discussions of 21st century information warfare intermixed with allusions to events in ancient Chinese history.

The goal of current strategic thinkers within the People's Republic of China is to create a strong, powerful, and united China which is a great power within the world. Chinese strategists believe that in achieving this goal, they are not pursuing any hegemonic or war-like ambitions and are sometimes very perplexed that others may see China's ambitions in this way. Unlike the Soviet Union and the United States, Chinese strategists after the 1980s do not believe that they are advancing any higher international ideological interests such as world communism or freedom, and are generally cynical about the motives of nations, particularly the United States, who claim that they are motivated by higher goals such as spreading freedom and democracy.

These goals of Chinese grand strategy have not been subject to any serious debate within the People's Republic of China, and are arguably the same as the ones that have motivated China since the Opium Wars.

Chinese strategic thinkers tend to view current international relations as a competition between states acting in their self-interest similar to that of the Warring States period in Chinese history. The chief question which Chinese strategic thinkers have focused on involves the relationship with the United States. The dilemma that China perceives itself in is that on the one hand United States may be an obstacle to China's rise to being a great power, while at the same time, it is also believed that the United States is also indispensable to China's rise to being a great power. Increasingly, China can be seen to have aligned itself most closely with Russia, and in 2001, the two countries have signed the twenty year Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.

Important concepts which are unique in modern Chinese thought include people's war and comprehensive national power.