The first meeting of Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama is now the highlight, if not the center, of the G-20. The media are already singling out the two countries as "the G-2." The term G-2 comes across not only as a description of the weakening of Europe nor mere praise of the raise of the Far East giant, but also a new age where the U.S. is no longer the sole superpower.
Catching up with the United States has long been China's aspiration, and Beijing is putting a huge amount of energy, money and manpower to do just that. China is aiming to become a superpower in every sense: In culture, economics and technology.
Last year's Beijing Olympics might have been eclipsed by the global economic meltdown, but the billions that were invested have left an indelible impression. Before the torch was out, the organizer of the London 2012 games already conceded that the UK was not aiming to (read: unable to) top China in spending, crowning the Beijing Olympics as the most expensive one in history and in a long time to come.
Now the world is looking for China to spend the way out of its crisis. Warming up to the G-20, Beijing was challenging Washington's dominance in world economics by proposing a new global reserve currency and arguing for more say in world finance. On April 2, the New York Times reported that China is planning to overtake Japan and U.S. as the world's leading electric and hybrid car producer.
It's maybe counter-intuitive, but China's ascension in the world stage actually plays in Taiwan's favor.
First, China's gain in prestige makes it more difficult to attack Taiwan. Striking the island with a population of 23 million will prove devastating to its image.
Even if the PRC decides to go all out with Taiwan, military option can be a costly one. Taiwan is located in a key strategic position. It is within striking distance to all major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hong Kong and Macau. If Taiwan put up a fight when invaded, attacking the island can be catastrophic to China's economy. China has realised the Taiwan people's courage and resilience in the face of force from the 1996 missile crisis, when Taiwan defied its bullying to elect Lee Teng-hui as president.1|2|Next Page
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