Beijing's leaders are aware China doesn't have the military capability to invade Taiwan. They also have concluded from the Gulf War and the Kosovo conflict that high-tech air and sea capabilities are the keys to winning modern conflicts. Hence, they have launched a drive to modernize China's military arsenal. This is being accomplished primarily through arms purchases, technology transfers from Russia and increased outlays for domestic research and development. The Cox Report from the U.S. Congress alleges that China also acquired advanced nuclear weapons technology from the United States.
China denies the allegations.
Analysts who study China's military say its arsenal is so far behind that of the United States and other Western powers that China cannot become a global military power for at least the first half of the next century. China wasn't the only country that held this view, but it took the situation personally. Other separatist groups in China may think that their separatist activities will receive international support from America, and they may extend their existing separatist activities. Also because of Yugoslavia and the tragic deaths of Chinese citizens in Belgrade, the Chinese government has gained much greater credibility with its public in the face of criticism by international human rights advocates. With public anger over the bombing still simmering, this argument seemed convincing to a large number of Chinese.