China’s Maritime Rise as a Historical Trend

Abstract

Is China a maritime state? Will it become a great maritime power? For this increasingly influential country that is about to overtake the US as the world's largest economy, is the vast expanse of water a springboard or a short board? Opportunities or risks? Should there come a day when China replaces the US as the greatest maritime power? How would its rise differ from the power shift from Portugal, to Spain, to Holland, to Britain, and finally to the US in the previous centuries?