After the end of World War 2, the US, aided by its Western allies, crafted a global order based on normative rules, military supremacy, and economic globalization. Washington’s influence established the rule of international engagement, comprising the United Nations and agreements establishing Bretton Woods to NATO. However, the system started to experience shocks in the 21st century, most notably the rise of China. Beijing held a military parade on Wednesday to mark the conclusion of World War II. This military parade has both declaratory and commemorative elements. A new era in world politics is heralded by the golden numerals 1945 and 2025, which commemorate 80 years since the end of World War 2. The five interconnected components enumerated by the Chinese strategy-moral, physical, geometrical, geographical, and strategic sustainability- are the foundation of China’s challenge to the US-led international order.
The US-led world order is crumbling due to the changing internal and external realities. Domestically, the rise of populist and isolationist tendencies is reinforcing this decline. The retreat from international engagements, the JCPOA, and the Paris Agreement, and the mantra of “America First†have questioned Washington’s global leadership. Externally, the decline of Washington’s global GDP share, from 40% in 1960 to 24% in 2019, has reduced its capacity to support global public goods and leadership, as it once did. At the same time, the rise of China and its promotion of alternative institutions, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and values seems an attractive choice to the global South that views this system as hypocritical, unequal, and serving Western interests, while ignoring the rest of the states.
The moral aspect of Chinese strategy blends Confucian moralism and a centralised mode of governance. While Western scholars portray Beijing as a realist actor, coercive, covert, and power-maximizer, the Chinese experts emphasize values like benevolence (ren), righteousness (yi), and virtue (de) as guiding norms. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, a renewed sense of national pride and unity has emerged, with Beijing positioning itself as a moral force working to address historical injustice. At the Tiananmen parade, President Xi gave a symbolic toast, urging the world to “never return to the law of the jungleâ€, calling for peace and common prosperity for all mankind. Beijing seeks to dismantle the Washington-led world order by positioning itself as a virtuous civilizational alternative, which champions harmony, sovereignty, and non-interference over Western universalism. China’s aggression and restraint are a part of the moral aspect of its strategy that sanctifies power and redefines global engagement.
Clausewitz describes physical elements, the mass, organization, and disposition of forces, as an integral part of strategy, which is visible in China’s forces and alliance network. At the Tiananmen parade, China displayed the DF-5C, a silo-launched ICBM with global strike range and MIRV technology. Besides, the JL-3 submarine-launched missile and the DF-31BJ mobile ICBM signaled a formal debut of its nuclear triad based on air, land, and sea. Simultaneously, China’s growing political, military, and economic partnership with Iran, Russia, the SCO members, and North Korea is creating a counterweight to Western military coalitions. These partnerships bolster Beijing’s strategic depth and political insulation. The growing military might and alliance network are a part of the physical element of Chinese strategy to challenge the US-led world.
Another element of strategy is geometrical, which encompasses concentric and eccentric outreach. China’s concentric focus primarily lies on Taiwan and its surrounding grey areas, which comprise islands. Beijing’s expanding naval footprint, artificial islands, and missile deployments form a tightening arc around Taiwan. The recent parade and new military technologies challenge the US’ National Defense Strategic guidelines, which prioritize security for Taiwan. In the same way, the eccentric outreach to Latin America and Africa, through infrastructure, diplomatic recognition, and trade, undermines Washington’s influence in its backyard. This dual geometrical aspect presents Chinese global power projection, which challenges the US-led world order.
The geographical component of the strategy outlines China’s intention to control key maritime chokepoints. As said by President Xi in 2017, “We often say that to get rich we must first build roads; but in coastal areas, to get rich we must also first build portsâ€. Beijing has invested around US$11 billion in 129 ports, where around 27% of global containers pass. The South China Sea, through which one-third of global trade flows, is increasingly militarised by Beijing’s naval presence. Likewise, Gwadar port, located at the Persian Gulf, offers China a strategic foothold near important energy routes. This expanding presence and control of important routes threatens Western dominance in these vital areas.
The fifth component relates to all supply channels that support both economic resilience and military operations. AI, rare earth minerals, semiconductors, and supply chain resilience are all integral to China’s techno-economic infrastructure, which is changing the basis of world dominance. China used to supply the US with roughly 96% of its rare earth materials, and in 2024, its rare earth reserves were the largest in the world. Beijing’s defense and technology sectors depend heavily on this framework. China has started imposing export controls on rare earth minerals that are essential to the US automotive and defense industries in response to US tariffs. It is noteworthy that China is maintaining its access to minerals by extending its infrastructure in resource-rich areas through the Belt and Road Initiative. The US’s technological dominance is being challenged by Beijing’s integration of AI and chip manufacturing skills. To conclude, a deliberate reconfiguration based on strategic totality is the reason for China’s challenge to the US-led international system. Beijing is undergoing a multifaceted change in global power projection, from the geometric outreach to the control of global chokepoints and supply lines, and from the moral legitimacy based on Confucian revivalism to improving its conventional and nuclear forces. With Beijing’s rise, Clausewitz’s five essential components of strategy are once again relevant. The Tiananmen parade, containing golden numerals 1945 and 2025, shows the intent that Beijing foresees a greater role in international politics.
This article was published in another form at https://ipi.org.pk/chinas-multidimensional-strategy-to-reshape-the-global-order/
Muhammad Kumail Mehdi is a Research Assistant at the Center for International Strategic Studies in Islamabad.
