Many governments watched the display of US military power in 1991, and again in 2003, and were awestruck. For some, this was a wake-up call that had far reaching consequences. Elsa B Kania, China military expert at the Center for a New American Security, explains the significance in terms of People’s Liberation Army modernisation across fighting arms, and how we need to understand potential vulnerabilities and weaknesses based on the slower accompanying cultural change among those in uniform in China.