China’s Strategic Objectives in the Indo-Pacific

China’s emergence as a global power directly rivaling the US has caused a major
development in global geopolitics that triggered a struggle to establish hegemony.
Particularly, the struggle for dominance in the international arena has pushed the US
and China to undergo a “Great Power Competition” that is reshaping the current global
world order.

China is expected to become the largest economy by 2030, catalyzed by the

country’s innovation, pioneering technologies, artificial intelligence, and enhanced
military and naval capabilities. Alongside China’s growing prominence in matters of
global importance is the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) increasing ambition in the
international arena.

Just recently, the 20th Party Congress of the CPC had been convened, laying
down the foundations for China’s overarching strategic ambitions within and beyond the
region. Chinese President Xi Jinping explicitly proclaimed his vision of China leading
the world, offering his country as an alternative to the US and its allies. Xi warned that
the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is now an irreversible historical course, implying
that China will stop at nothing to attain its strategic goal of becoming a global hegemon.

The pronouncements suggest that China is now ready to face the US head on,
vowing to realize the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland. The Chinese president’s
pronouncements basically heighten the probability that China will invade Taiwan at the
soonest opportune time. The pronouncements also imply that the modernization of the
People’s Liberation Army is advancing hastily, prompting drastic implications of a
change in the status quo and the security environment of the region.

Moreover, Xi’s rhetoric of settling the Taiwan problem among the Chinese people
highlights China’s inclination of a possible unilateral decision regarding the Cross-Strait
Issue. China seems adamant on professing its confidence and strategic commitment of
reclaiming the self-ruled island, carrying heavy implications to the stability of the region
in the coming years.

However, China has issued pronouncements that it will adapt to slower economic
growth, implying that China will maintain most of its economic policies. Several
economic policies such as dual circulation and supply-side structural reforms
reappeared, emphasizing the inflexibility of Beijing’s economic model that revolves more
on domestic consumption and higher value-added products. This means that China will
move to focus more on internal growth that may impact the global supply chain and the
economic recovery of the region.

On China’s economic projects, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may either see
a downgrade or a reformulation of the economic policy, as the BRI has yet to make an
appearance in the summary of China’s accomplishments over the past five years.
Conspicuously, Xi made pronouncements on the newer Global Development Initiative
(GDI), and Global Security Initiative (GSI), implying that the BRI may have been
relegated lower in China’s foreign policy hierarchy.

The GDI and GSI may become China’s main foreign policy in the region,
prompting the need to investigate the two newer initiatives given the specificity of its
scope and strategic aim. The GDI, seemingly overlapping with the BRI, aims to
integrate the Chinese economy into the development objectives of potential member
countries that it may include. Meanwhile, the GSI may be a venue to forward security
agreements and guarantees from countries that may join the security initiative. In that
regard, the GSI may be Beijing’s answer to US-led security initiatives such as the
AUKUS and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, among others.

Ultimately, China perceives the Indo-Pacific region as fertile ground for its
expansionist sentiment. Conventional warfare is no longer a tangible tool given the
existence of the rules-based international order. China will continue to modernize its
military, but in line with this, will forward overarching foreign policies that will aid in
Beijing’s goal of reshaping the global geopolitical landscape. For China, global
dominance equates to firm control over countries’ economy, emphasizing the CPC’s
pronouncements of expanding its economic hold over the international community.