China’s military build-up in the early twenty-first century : from arms procurement to war-fighting capability

Since the late 1990s, China’s military arsenal has been dramatically modernised. However, the actual military value of the newly developed systems has yet to be clarified. This study attempts to do so, on the basic assumption that technological military progress per se is not sufficient to increase military strength. Instead of evaluating arms development in technological terms, it therefore adopts an alternative approach to consider its adaptability to the country’s strategic situation