I would not say that the USSR did not make a lot of progress. It was technologically advanced (through it's use of design bureaus) but the inherent inefficienci

I would not say that the USSR did not make a lot of progress. It was technologically advanced (through it's use of design bureaus) but the inherent inefficiencies of it's system made it quite impossible to grow after a certain point (economically speaking). China is playing it smart. It is waving the proverbial carrot in front of the faces of poorer countries in Africa etc. They would gladly support the Chinese coming over to build their infrastructure after being f*ed over by the international (i.e. Western) financial institutions. They are running over to China because it can help them. China can already count on a large base of support from these countries. The military is going to be used to further this base of support. Being strong means that more people would be inclined to deal with you, knowing that you can accord them protection. The military will play a huge role in increasing the economic might of China. This will not happen soon. China still has a long way to go. China needs to assume greater control of world finance for this to work. Their new development bank is just firing up. China is still only a major exporter of cheap goods and electronics.