Studying China's Military Power

Abstract: China is rapidly improving its military capabilities, transforming the People's Liberation Army (PLA) into an increasingly sophisticated and capable force. How China continues to develop its military power, how it thinks about the use of force, and how it seeks to employ military means to achieve broader political and strategic objectives will significantly shape global security and international politics in the decades to come. This presentation, based on a report by the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI), will discuss how military power can be studied in general and with a specific focus on China, including presenting an analytical framework which the report has designed. The presentation will also discuss the progress and current state the PLA’s force modernization with an emphasis on conventional capabilities. Finally, the presentation will touch upon the relevance and importance of China’s military power with regards to Europe.

Christopher Weidacher Hsiung is a senior researcher in the Department for Global Security at the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI). His research interests include international relations theory, East Asian security issues, Chinese foreign and security policy, and China–Russia relations. Among his previous work experience are positions at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS) and the Embassy of Sweden in Beijing. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Oslo, has been a visiting scholar at Peking University’s School of International Studies (SIS), and has studied Chinese language in Beijing, Taipei, and Wuhan.

Per Olsson is a senior researcher in the Department for Defence Economics at the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI). His area of expertise is military expenditure and materiel supply, in Sweden and internationally, as well as Chinese military modernization. Per has a Master’s in Economics—Institutional Economics, with a focus on China, from Lund University.

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