China is scheduled to become only the third country to put a man into orbit, according to BBC reports. This is a "showcase for China's coming of age as a major player in international affairs," said Cheng Li, William R. Kenan Professor of Government. ... "This goal is therefore highly political, and is aimed at projecting China above other regional powers, to an orbit where only the largest continental nations rotate. In other words, a manned space programme is the passport for entering the superpower club," he said.
"All nine members of the politburo standing committee are engineers"
Li Cheng, professor of government, Hamilton College
The official Communist Party line is that the forthcoming space flight will materially benefit not just China but the whole world. ... China's technology was once the envy of the world. But a decline set in 4-500 years ago, as the empire became more inward looking, and it is only in the past 25 years that things have looked up again, says Li Cheng.
Outposts on the Moon
"Starting with Deng Xiaoping, the recent leadership has been driven by technocratic competitiveness - by the belief that national power stems from economic strength, which in turn comes from technocratic strength," he said.
All nine members of the group of men who rule China today - the standing committee of the Communist Party politburo - are engineers by training, Professor Li points out.
China's 10-year space objectives include setting up a satellite broadcasting and telecommunications system and building "an integrated military and civilian Earth observation system". ...
There are specific military purposes, in the view of Li Cheng.
"No one would be so naïve as to think this only has civilian implications. China is very concerned about the US missile defence system. [China's] space programme is commissioned and mainly controlled by the military," he said.
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