by Craig Williamson

Created on: March 02, 2009

While America worries about Chinese military capability, the Chinese growth in influence should be of far more concern. In the past couple of decades, China has successfully remade it's imagine around the world, but nowhere more so than in Asia. In the 1970's, China's foreign policy centred around overt hostility towards not only the free world, but also most of the Communist world. They were an active sponsor of Marxist rebel groups all the way from Africa to the Philippines, the worked to destabilize nations along their borders, they initiated a devastating class war on their own people, and they adopted an excessively hostile stance toward the United States.

Since that time, China has developed a highly professional foreign service. Whereas American diplomats are often stationed in any particular country for three years or less, Chinese diplomats are encouraged to stay for as long as possible. They very often are fluent in the local languages, have lived in the country for ten or more years, and are able to make on the spot decisions that any democratic country would not be able to do.

They've long ago ceased sponsoring armed resistance groups, and instead have begun working to convince developing and developed nations alike that they pose no threat and are only interested in "win-win" deals. Additionally, they offer themselves as a unique voice in the world in that they don't question the domestic policies of any country, even when it comes to basic human rights.

This has allowed dictatorships such as that of Burma and also that of Somalia to trade their oil and other natural resources free of political criticism. No western developed nation, or Japan for that matter, would ever want to be seen as being close to the brutal regime in Somalia or in Burma, but for China those considerations barely register. Other countries, such as Venezuela have also found a sympathetic ear in China, which in turn threatens the American oil supply.

Beyond these trade deals, China has begun to aggressively promote it's language and culture abroad. Though little of this reaches the United States, South-East Asia and Australia have been targeted by this charm campaign with great success. Opinions toward the People's Republic have improved immensely over the past two and a half decades as China frequently approaches these countries with cultural exchange offers, development aid, and a smiling face.

In the post 9/11 world, while the U.S was disengaging from much of Asia, China was

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