China: After 9/11, China grew into a superpower as a distracted U.S. fixated on terrorism, experts say

As the U.S. was bogged down fighting Islamist militants in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, China's economic and military power grew exponentially. Beijing built up its missile arsenal, extended its reach in the South China Sea by constructing artificial islands, stole intellectual property on a massive scale and pursued predatory trade tactics, experts say.

"After 9/11, China very quickly realized that Washington's strategic focus would be shifting 3,000 miles away, away from the East China Sea, away from the Taiwan Strait and into Afghanistan," said Craig Singleton of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank. "It was an opportunity to quietly develop very coercive military capabilities that were all designed and intended to expand its power in East Asia."

Read more at: After 9/11, China grew into a superpower as a distracted U.S. fixated on terrorism, experts say