University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

Chinese defense analysts have widely divergent views on the rationale and intentions behind the US Third Offset Strategy. Some characterize it as a trap to induce China and Russia into an arms race or a hoax designed by the United States to cover its weaknesses. Others see it as a competitive strategy to seek technological superiority that will safeguard the security of the United States and its regional allies and partners. This brief presents a Chinese perspective on the strategy and its motivations, and offers some possible Chinese responses as China upgrades its defense technological capabilities.