Over the past few years, threat responses in China shifted from territorial integrity concerns to vulnerability reduction and risk containment. On the other side, the Chinese Armed Forces are preparing for a war with an undefined adversary under uncertain circumstances. This article analyses threat perceptions and narratives in China in order to better understand the country’s security policies and responses. Historical strategic culture forms a specific manner of threat perception and therefore should be considered for a better understanding of actual operations. From 1998 onwards, China publishes its Strategy White Papers that serve both as internally aligning guidelines and as externally appeasing agenda-setters. This article analyses frequency and intensity of threat perceptions and countermeasures across nine White Papers.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
