The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China's Military

: The final years of the 2000s turned out to be quite eventful for the People's Republic of China (PRC and China interchangeably) and its armed forces, the People's Liberation Army (PLA). While there were exciting events for them to celebrate, there were disturbing ones for them to worry about as well. China's economic reform and phenomenal economic development had sailed on uncharted waters for 30 years. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders could not have wished for a better occasion than the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing to celebrate their accomplishments. The Beijing Olympics ceremonies were probably the most expensive in history; but China had plenty to spend. After all, its economic development had turned it into the world's third largest economy and trading nation, the largest holder of foreign exchange reserves and U.S. treasury bonds, and so on.