The Three Dimensions of China’s Comprehensive National Power (CNP): Hard, Soft & Smart

Abstract

Asian countries such as China and India have established and developed their own concepts of national power. It is a comprehensive re-assessment of what created national power especially after the end of the Cold War which involved the United States of America and Russia, as well as the Asian and Trans Atlantic monetary crises. Clearly, China was advanced when it suggested the concept of its Comprehensive National Power (CNP). Basically, the power usage would be grounded on an entire national vision which is mainly based on its people aspirations added with strong leadership ability. China’s CNP is distinctive based on the Chinese people perspectives, yet different from the Western national power. To understand further about China’s national power, this article aims to investigate certain concepts about China’ CNP. The article also seeks to answer questions on what entails China’s CNP and also the dimensions of China’s CNP. The objective of this article is to examine the three dimensions of China’s CNP in terms of hard, soft, and smart power. Overall, this article argues that China’s CNP has a wider coverage, emphasising completeness and factors such as material strength, economy and influence. This article is based on qualitative methodology using document analysis of various reading documents and journals. Relevant themes were analysed and categorised to come up with themes to illustrate the different components of concepts pertaining to China’s CNP - hard, soft and smart power.