But to do so while ignoring China's economic situation is to show poor judgement. Beijing fully understands, if most of these conservatives do not, that to successfully wage full-scale war against a highly advanced economy requires an economy at a similar stage of development.
China is still a very poor country by any measure.
President Jiang Zemin's support for increased expenditure on sophisticated weaponry to counter the American presence should be viewed in this light. Now a country's wealth is not measured in terms of dollars but in its productive capacity. Understanding this fact helps put China's technology imports into perspective. What China lacks is not technology but capital. All the technology in the world cannot help her if she lacks the capital to apply.