China is unarguably the leading economic power in the Asia Pacific region, but whether it can convert its economic might into political influence remains to be seen. In a strongly worded editorial, containing a thinly veiled attack on the US, the Reference News argues it has already done so.

China is becoming a political and economic giant at a blistering pace. Indeed, some observers believe it is now the leading regional power across Asia Pacific. This does not mean it has achieved domination or hegemony, but it does mean that all of the countries across the region must pay attention to China’s interests when formulating their foreign policies.

However, China is still not able to parallel the US’ capacity for hard power projection. But in terms of the exercise of regional influence, China has been arrived as a paramount power whose interests all of the Asian Pacific countries must take into consideration.

The foremost concern China has is to unequivocally ensure that there is no deviation from the One-China policy by all of the regional countries as well as all UN member states.

Looking back to 2004 – an enlightening example of how China ensured its One-China policy was obeyed by all of the regional countries – Mr Lee Hsien Loong, shortly before his swearing-in as Prime Minister of Singapore, paid a visit to Taipei, triggering the wrath of the Chinese, and a warning. Prearranged official visits and all kinds of other exchanges planned for after his swearing in were cancelled by China. The Singaporean government then changed its stance, and was cowed into stating officially: “We do pursue the One-China policy and such a visit by our prime minister was not appropriate.”

What’s more, to make up for his misdemeanor, Mr Lee Hsien Loong said that should there ever be a conflict between mainland China and Taiwan island, it would be, needless to say, Taiwan’s fault.

China seems to have achieved this supremacy since the 1990s, while Japan was not able to achieve a comparable status in its golden age during the 1980s. Several reasons could explain that. First of all, China has never been a colonial power. Some researchers found that we tend to neglect the lingering resentment of the colonial period such as Malaysia under British rule and the Philippines under American rule.

Second, China does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Although China is not an economic superpower especially in terms of per capita measurement, its military power is mighty enough to exert some pressure if it wants to, but it has not done that. The only case when the Chinese government will interfere and make its voice known is when other governments act in a way that is discriminatory against Chinese, or when China’s territorial sovereignty is threatened. This sort of foreign policy, in the eyes of the regional governments, is far more sensible and revered than some other reckless policies made by a country thousands of miles apart across the Pacific Ocean.

One further factor about China’s success is that it is open to the impact other countries have on the regional countries. Chances are that if you do not publicly declare supremacy, you will be tacitly revered as being supreme. On the contrary, if you desperately try to do so against all odds, you will definitely end up short. 

The original Chinese-language version of this article was first published in the Reference News on June 22, 2007. The China Perspective takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the original information.