To your knowledge.
Well luckily I don't have your knowledge.
The Chinese and the US are provoking in the region. A little research would stand you in good stead.
Fair enough, show me the information that leads you to believe China has imperialist aspirations. You know, something more substantial than "they want to emulate us", lol.
I didn't say imperialistic aspirations. The US wasn't imperialistic.
The days of the Empire have gone. Now it's the days of the superpowers, this is what China wants to become. However controlling that land around it which it has claims to is its first desire. I'm not sure how much they actually want the issues to be resolved, they want to use such situations to further their nationalistic agenda, useful when you're not democratic to keep the people on your side. Such as the anti-Japanese protests in China in 2012, when no anti-CCP protests are ever allowed, even anti-a specific company protests are put down by the police, but they allowed this anti-Japanese one to go on for days.
They're even made an anti-Japan day, officially Nanjing massacre day.
You don't think the US is an empire?
Superpower is a euphemism.
No, it's not an empire. It's different. Clearly imperialism included a lot of foreign land grabbing, the US changed things, keep your land at home, setup bases in places on foreign soil, and play around with those who don't do what you want them to do. It's not nice, but it's not imperialism.
Imperialism implies control of one nation by another. Colonization is but a tool to exert control but by no means the only one as the US empire has demonstrated.
It might mean that in a certain sense, but which countries are NOT trying to do this? I mean, I'd say all of them are to some extent. If China goes to Lesotho then China is trying to use it's power or influence to get what it wants. But Lesotho is also using its power and influence to get what it wants too.
China wants votes in the UN, it got it from Lesotho, Lesotho wanted a nice brand new parliament building, it got it.
So using the term Imperialism in this manner doesn't get us very far.
The Latin Imperium means to rule over large areas. There's a difference, rule, rather than simply influence. The Age of Imperialism was from like 1600s through to WW2 where is managed to then disintegrate and was mostly over by 1980 (Zimbabwe for example gained independence in this year, although there are still imperial places, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, and many other places the French, Dutch, British etc still have, and the US has Guam, Puerto Rico etc)
Imperialism here is not just influence over a country, but actively being in a country and manipulating it, taking resources, controlling the politics of the country, things like that.
China isn't doing that, at least not yet, and doesn't seem to aspire to that.
China IS trying to influence other countries. Read the China Daily if you want a good old laugh (or cry).
I read about Hong Kong and democracy. "Well, we chose the people they can vote for, but they still get to choose which Beijing stooge they want, so they've got Democracy, it's what they wanted so they should shut the fuck up" (well maybe they didn't exactly say it like that, but the meaning was the same.
China slams Japanese defense minister's remarks - China - Chinadaily.com.cn
Here's a nice one about the Nanjing Massacre.
China opens S China Sea website - China - Chinadaily.com.cn
This one is more relevant to the South China Seas thing
"China on Wednesday opened a website on the South China Sea, complete with historical maps, articles and research, according to the State Oceanic Administration (SOA)."
""We hope that this website will enable domestic and overseas people to better understand it and learn about the truth behind the 'dispute' over it.""
In other words, learn the truth as Beijing has decided to make it.
""The website is founded with the aim of positively publicizing our policies, claims, historical proof, legal basis and international cooperation while serving as a reliable channel for domestic and overseas government departments, research groups and individuals to learn about the South China Sea," said SOA spokesman Shi Qingfeng."
Yep, it's all a govt propaganda site designed to legitimize the ownership of islands China has already taken.
发现和命名-中国南海网
"Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25 - A 220) Yang Fu book "foreign body" records: "Kawasaki head up the sea, shallow and more magnet." "Up the sea" as the title of the South China Sea in ancient China, "Kawasaki head" was ancient China called on the sea islands and reefs." (curtosy of Google translate).
All of it will be from China's perspective, anything that disproves, or at least shows the opposite of what China claims to "prove" its claim, will be completely missing.
Colonization and Imperialism differ in that one is about an Empire, the other is about colonies, not much difference, but a slight one.