The China Dream will become our reality sooner than we think

In 1839, a “century of humiliation” at the hands of Western powers began, bringing to an end the last of the 12 dynasties that had ruled China for centuries.
The First Opium War broke out when China attempted to suppress the trade in a drug from India that had become an addiction resulting in social and economic problems. The British Royal Navy laid waste to Chinese ports forcing China to sign the Treaty of Nanking. The lopsided treaty opened up four more Chinese ports aside from Canton, to trade and residency. It also granted extraterritorial rights to British citizens while the island of Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity.
The Second Opium War in 1856 also resulted in the defeat of the Chinese at the hands of a combined Anglo-French force. It was capped with the Treaty of Tientsin that opened 11 more Chinese ports to trade and gave foreigners the right to travel to the interior, granted entry to Christian missionaries and made the import of opium legal. It was an era of unequal treaties that gradually weakened and ultimately toppled the ruling Qing dynasty.
In 1949, Mao Zedong and his communist forces defeated the nationalist army of Chiang Kai Shek, and established the People’s Republic of China.
Since the time of Chairman Mao, leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) have been on a mission to reclaim the country’s “rightful place” as the No 1 nation in the world, spurred on by the humiliations suffered in the past.
That goal is intertwined with President Xi Jinping’s “China Dream”, with 2049 set as the date the dream will be realised – 100 years after Mao’s ascension and the founding of the communist state.We are only 31 years away from 2049.
Chinese military analyst Colonel Liu Mingfu in his book, “The China Dream”, describes the competition between China and the United States as more like a “track and field” event than a “boxing match”. It will be a protracted marathon.
When asked about China displacing America as the No 1 power in the world, Singapore’s then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew replied: “Why not? They have transformed a poor society by an economic miracle to become now the second-largest economy in the world – on track to become the world’s largest economy in the next 20 years … It is China’s intention to be the greatest power in the world. The policies of all governments toward China, especially neighbouring countries [and this includes the Philippines] have already taken this into account. These governments are repositioning themselves because they know that there will be consequences if they thwart China when its core interests are at stake. China can impose economic sanctions simply by denying access to its market of 1.4 billion people whose incomes and purchasing power are increasing.”

The road being built
Last October, President Xi declared that “it was time for China to take centre stage in the world”. He then announced his signature Belt and Road Initiative, a remaking of the ancient Silk Road, through an ambitious programme building a network of highways, railways, ports and pipelines linking Asia via the Middle East to Europe, and south to Africa. In all, 900 projects are earmarked at a cost of $900 billion. The Belt and Road Initiative is aimed at reaching 65 countries with 70 per cent of the world’s population.
All these activities strengthen China’s leadership credentials at a time when the United States is wavering on its international commitments, giving up its role on climate change, and threatening to scrap the Iran nuclear deal. Its leader tweets that he is a “very stable genius”, and insults the black nations of Africa and Haiti. I would not be surprised if one morning Trump tweets “why are we issuing so many tourist visas to countries like the Philippines? So many of them become, in their lingo, TNTs (hide and hide) and some are even terrorists that pose a danger to our security.”
In the eyes of many observers, China has already won the marathon race between the two countries.
Ian Bremmer of Time magazine writes that “China, not the United States, is the global economy’s single most powerful actor”. He points out that “China’s political and economic system is better equipped and perhaps, even more sustainable than the American model”. He admits that no one government will have the international influence to set the rules governing the global system, “but if you had to bet on one country that is best positioned today to extend its influence with partners and rivals alike, the smart money would probably be on China, not the United States”.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte must be commended for his pivot to China. We cannot rely on the United States; neither can its long-time allies, who have started to work out new directions to protect and secure their own interests.