E-CKN Briefing: China’s “World-Class Military” in the Indo-Pacific: Scenarios for 2049 and their consequences for European security"

The European China Knowledge Network (E-CKN) will hold a closed-door briefing on "China’s “World-Class Military” in the Indo-Pacific: Scenarios for 2049 and their consequences for European security" on Wednesday, April 15, 16:30-18:00h CET at the European Policy Centre, Rue du Trône 14-16, 1000 Brussels.

The recent and ongoing purges in the PLA have drawn renewed attention to China’s long-term military objectives. While the reasons behind the purges are highly debated, it is clear that the country is rapidly modernising and reforming its armed forces with the aim of building a “world-class military” by 2049. China’s defence spending has increased thirteen-fold over the past three decades and China’s share of global defence spending is growing steadily. The military’s primary aims are to facilitate China’s “reunification” with Taiwan and to project power in the Western Pacific. This would have far-reaching implications for European security, including political, geo-economic, and military pressure from both China and the US.

This event will lay out three scenarios for 2049, including a blockade of Taiwan, a U.S.-China war in the Indo-Pacific and China’s emerging primacy in regional seas. The briefing will then address analytical frameworks for assessing China’s military power, after which a discussion will follow on what Europe can do to contribute to stability in the Indo-Pacific and reduce its vulnerabilities to a potential crisis.