Since the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union, most defense watchers assumed that China would step into the role of America’s next great-power peer competitor. For years China was the elephant in the room when discussing budgets, programs, and force structure. Few wanted to identify it directly, and, with U.S. forces being tied down in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past decade, it was easy to sidestep the matter. But with the creation of the new AirSea Battle Doctrine and the Obama administration’s announcement of a “pivot” toward the Asia-Pacific region earlier this year, there can be little doubt that China now occupies a prominent spot in the minds of decision makers. In light of those developments, we thought it a good idea to once again cast an eye toward China, and many of our contributors this month weigh in with a range of opinions on what we might expect from Beijing.
