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IS KOREA PREPARED FOR SUPERPOWER CHINA?

Chosun Ilbo, September 2, 2009

China held a massive ceremony in Tiananmen Square on Thursday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of communist rule. The highlight of the event, broadcast throughout the world via the state-run CCTV channel, was a military parade as around 8,000 People's Liberation Army soldiers marched through the square. Featured were 108 missiles, including the DongFeng 41 second-generation intercontinental ballistic missile, the JL-2 submarine-launched missile with a range of 8,000 km, as well as tanks, howitzers and other cutting-edge weapons.

Home-grown early-warning aircraft, aerial tankers, next-generation fighter jets, unmanned drones and helicopters put on performances in the air for nine minutes. Ninety percent of the weapons unveiled during the ceremony were shown for the first time.

China not only touted its military might but also showed off its economic growth and technological progress. Per capita GDP, which stood at US$33 when the People's Republic was established in 1949, had risen to $3,267 last year, while the country has grown to become the world's second-largest exporter and the largest holder of dollar reserves. In September last year, China launched the Shenzhou manned lunar spacecraft into orbit 340 km above the earth and became the third country in the world to succeed in a spacewalk following the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. Chinese President Hu Jintao said during the ceremony, "The forecast for China's development is infinitely optimistic." It was an expression of pride in the country's accomplishments.

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