The United States and China in Power Transition - Strategic Studies ...

has been a consistent assessment and concern over the
years:
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is pursuing
comprehensive transformation from a mass army designed
for protracted wars of attrition on its territory
to one capable of fighting and winning short-duration,
high-intensity conflicts along its periphery against
high-tech adversaries—an approach that China refers
to as preparing for “local wars under conditions of informatization.”
The pace and scope of China’s military
transformation have increased in recent years, fueled
by acquisition of advanced foreign weapons, continued
high rates of investment in its domestic defense
and science and technology industries, and far-reaching
organizational and doctrinal reforms of the armed
forces. China’s ability to sustain military power at a
distance remains limited, but its armed forces continue
to develop and field disruptive military technologies,
including those for anti-access/area-denial, as well as
for nuclear, space, and cyber warfare, that are changing
regional military balances and that have implications
beyond the Asia-Pacific region. 225
As of 2011, China is second to the United States in
many areas of military power such as defense spending;
aerial-based weapons, ballistic, and cruise missile
programs; naval combatant, submarine, and amphibious
warfare ships; and land-based capabilities.
In 2007, China became the third nation (in addition
to the United States and Soviet Union/Russia) to test
its anti-satellite capability. Earlier in 2011, China also
test-flew its advanced stealthy fighter jet, the J-20 (an
ostensible matchup to the U.S. F-22), and then in mid-
2011 speculation spread that China would soon testsail
its first aircraft carrier (the Soviet-built Varyag). 226
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