
China’s military is building up its advanced weaponry, and the US certainly will, too
- The formidable arsenal on display at China’s 70th anniversary parade announces to the world its ambition – backed by hefty investment – to be a global leader in futuristic weapons technology. The US, which has already torn up its nuclear weapons treaty with Russia, won’t be far behind
America has had a definitive military edge on China for the entire modern history of their bilateral relationship, commencing in 1979. It has been a pioneer in developing cutting-edge weapons systems, and remains a leader in that regard, with futuristic weapons such as the F-35 Lightning II fighter and the Tactical High Power Microwave Operational Responder system – designed to protect military bases against swarms of drones – now in its formidable arsenal.
It is clear that Beijing has invested a lot of money and resources and made some impressive achievements towards joining the ranks of global leaders in hypersonic weapons technology.
Military advances and Xi’s supreme status highlighted as Beijing celebrates
China has clearly demonstrated that it is a leader in military technological innovation.

During the treaty’s 32-year lifespan, while Russia and the US were abiding by its terms, China was busy developing its formidable missile arsenal within launch ranges that the treaty prohibited (ground-launched nuclear and conventional cruise and ballistic missiles of 500km-5,500km).
As of 2017, around 95 per cent of China’s missiles would have violated the INF treaty if China had been a signatory, according to US officials. Beijing certainly has no intention of joining a new INF accord now, which means a new arms race is sure to be the result.
Beijing has no intention of joining a new INF accord now, which means a new arms race is sure to be the result
Aside from increasingly disruptive cybertechnologies, China’s missile-centric military build-up may be the single biggest factor contributing to the erosion of American power and influence in Asia. Beijing is, in essence, producing such powerful and technologically advanced weaponry that the US should have no incentive to engage in a conflict. Multiple-range ballistic missiles that travel at many times the speed of sound provide little opportunity to be intercepted, based on current countermeasure technology.
So the US has little option but to take a page out of China’s own playbook and produce a similar set of weapons with similar capabilities. If Beijing were to ever have an incentive to join Moscow and Washington at the arms control negotiating table, it would only be because Russia, and especially the US, created a countervailing array of weaponry that eroded Beijing’s growing advantage on the Asian battlefield.
Parade more about peace than war
But that will take many years, as China continues on a relentless trajectory to stay ahead of the curve in creating and deploying advanced weaponry. The US, Russia and other leading nations of the world have surely already determined that the rules of the game are changing before their eyes.
Beijing has presumably not revealed everything in its impressive arsenal, nor the new technologies it may be in the advanced stages of researching. If the US wants to have any hope of keeping pace with the Chinese military, it had better discard its dog-eared, conventional playbook, and do so quickly.
Daniel Wagner is CEO of Country Risk Solutions and author, most recently, of China Vision
