The PLA at Home and Abroad - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

tary operations capabilities.” 6 In an attempt to transform
Hu’s general guidance into more specific policy,
articles in state and military news media have argued
that to safeguard China’s economic growth, the PLA
must go beyond its previous mission of safeguarding
national “survival interests” (生存利益) to protecting
national “development interests” (发展利益). 7 High
level PLAN officers are now conducting sophisticated
analysis of the “nonwar military operations” needed
to promote these interests. 8
This guidance and policy implementation is informed
by clear economic realities—themselves of
particular importance for a leadership that has staked
its political legitimacy on maintaining roughly 8 percent
growth of an economy that remains reliant on
extremely high levels of resource imports and manufactured
goods exports. China depends on maritime
transportation for 90 percent of its imports and exports.
By some metrics, China has more seafarers,
deep sea fleets, and ocean fishing vessels than any
other nation. 9 As of 2006, maritime industries accounted
for $270 billion in economic output (nearly 10
percent of gross domestic product [GDP]). 10 Already
at least tied with South Korea for status as the world’s
largest shipbuilder, China aims to become the largest
by 2015. 11 Chinese oil demand, growing rapidly, has
reached 8.5 million barrels per day (mbtd) even amid
the global recession. 12 China became a net oil importer
in 1993, and will likely become a net gasoline importer
by the end of 2009. While still a very significant oil
producer, China now imports half of its crude oil, with
4.6 mbpd in imports as of July 2009. Seaborne imports,
which even ambitious overland pipeline projects lack
the capacity to reduce, constitute more than 80 percent
of this total. 13 At present, therefore, 40 percent of
China’s oil comes by sea.
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