China's Quest for Military Supremacy

By: Phillip C. Saunders, Joel Wuthnow

Narrated by: Steve Marvel

China's military has entered a new era. It has acquired modern weapons to rival the world's finest, undergone a massive restructuring under Xi Jinping, and been on the frontlines of territorial disputes with Japan, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It is readying forces to be able to seize Taiwan sometime in the next decade. It aims to be a "world-class" military on par with the United States.

China's Quest for Military Supremacy provides a broad and accessible exploration of Chinese military power, including relations between the Chinese Communist Party and its army, the strategic worldview of Chinese leaders, military strategy and resourcing, conventional and nuclear modernization, military diplomacy and coercion, preparations for war, and the People's Liberation Army's emerging global role. It also identifies the challenges facing China's military and shows how its focus on supremacy in the region means that it is not yet prepared to fight with the same lethality beyond Asia. Different futures are possible, and the book concludes with a preview of what it might take for a truly "world-class" Chinese military to take the global stage.

©2025 Joel Wuthnow and Phillip C. Saunders (P)2025 Tantor Media

Deep Military Analysis

Great analysis of the PLA. For all of the books on China’s grand strategy, policy, and history, this book elucidates and analyzes an important aspect of understanding modern China that is sorely lacking: its military.

A useful guide and aggregation of information related to the PLA that is beneficial to operational and strategic level planners alike.