Command & Conquer Generals: Maelstrom/People's Republic of China

Introduction
The People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国 (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó)), also simply known as China, is a sovereign state and one of the world superpowers. In Maelstrom, the country appears as a new superpower temporary replacing the USA. With half of Russia and eastern Europe, India, Japan, Korea, and southeast Asia under their control.

Generals & Zero Hour Timeline (First War against the GLA)
In the 21st century, the Chinese government introduced reforms to the "Modern Way" (现代之路) program which increased civil liberties and improved the volume of exports, especially in light manufactured and agricultural goods. These developments put the country in conflict with the Global Liberation Army which began promoting separatism in Western China.

During this time, relations with the United States cooled after a US operation to thwart a terrorist attack on a Chinese facility went awry and resulted in the destruction of the White Dragon fighter jet's prototype, the Iron Dragon.

As the situation deteriorated, the GLA raided a Chinese military depot in Yecheng and destroyed a nuclear power plant. The Red Army divisions deployed to Xinjiang along major roadways and rivers. China refused to allow observers to mediate discussions with the GLA. The US continued to maintain a policy of non-involvement despite calls by the United Nations to actively support China in containing the GLA.

The crisis came to a climax when multiple GLA cells struck across the country, first with an attack on a military parade at Beijing with a nuclear bomb-carrying truck. The Chinese held off the opening offensive, going so far as to destroy the Three Gorges Dam to stall the enemy, before counter-attacking into Aldastan with US military support. The cell coordinating GLA activity in the Asian-Pacific region was located in Dushanbe and the Red Army moved in with nuclear weapons and removed it.

Their defeat in China did not affect the GLA's hold on strongholds and influence in neighboring Kazakhstan and the Middle East. Attempts by Chinese and US forces to root them out were continually frustrated. China attempted to promote a schism within the GLA by arming a splinter cell with nuclear weapons, but this backfired when the weapons were captured by the GLA and used to destroy the splinter cell. The Baikonur Cosmodrome was taken by the GLA despite a joint Chinese and US garrison.

The GLA shifted its attacks directly against the United States. The US was forced to deal with a rogue Chinese general with nuclear weapons who has joined the GLA. The Chinese seconded forces for the assault on GLA capital in Akmola. By this time, Chinese prestige was on the rise and had allowed military outposts and bases to be established as far as Europe.

China and the USA pushed their advantage as the GLA fractured. The US retook the Baikonur Cosmodrome after a failed Chinese attempt to do so, and managed to remove "Dr. Thrax". However, regrouping GLA factions struck unexpected blows against the United States in Europe and in North America. The GLA commandeered Chinese munitions to overrun the US base in Stuttgart-Vichingen, Germany. This hastened the US withdrawal from Europe to strengthen homeland defense.

The GLA celebrations were premature. The Chinese could neither allow a GLA resurgence with captured advanced munitions, nor leave unanswered the embarrassment caused by the GLA's use of captured Chinese weapons. The former US Stuttgart-Vichingen base was promptly destroyed by nuclear weapons and compelled the GLA to go underground. Despite heightened internal security, the GLA managed to launch a failed attack on the country's nuclear weapons production facility.

The Europeans tasked China with removing the GLA from their countries. In the meantime, the Chinese UN Representative assured the United Nations that it regretted the use of nuclear weapons and that it would exercise restraint in their use. Despite the situation, the United States continued to abandon their European bases, allowing the GLA to capture some. The crisis was resolved when the final GLA stronghold in Hamburg was destroyed.

The Europeans accepted a Chinese proposal for a new economic and military alliance. The Eurasian Unity League effectively replaced NATO. In the end, China has succeeded in making its "Rejuvenation of Chinese Civilization" AKA Chinese Dream a reality, replacing the USA as a world superpower.

Maelstrom Timeline (Second War against the GLA)
After ten years of peace and the establishment of a Sino-European cooperation, the GLA sudden dirty bombing around the world in 2023 had gave the nation a wake up call, with panic ensuring as most of their base were targets of the bombing and the GLA attacking everywhere. But being experienced in defeating the GLA, led the effort to banish the GLA once again despite being not backed by the USA at first, but suffered a few losses during the first years from underestimating the GLA as the war dragged on to a decade and the GLA became a superpower. But had capitalized on the chaos to annex the devastated Russia, eastern Europe, Japan, Korea, India, and all of southeast Asia. And when the USA unexpectedly reappeared on the international stage, which surprised the Chinese nation who thought the USA declined into a "Dark Age".

And as the stalemate came the scene is tense as the three superpowers ready themselves for the next war.

Military Doctrine and Technology
The Chinese military - the People's Liberation Army, or PLA - prides itself on its heavy firepower. A Chinese offensive tends to take on the nature of a slow-moving juggernaut, with the PLA employing heavy weaponry and sheer numbers to overwhelm its foes. The Chinese heavily employ propaganda on the battlefield to inspire their soldiers, and China's numerous troops defend the homeland with a nationalistic zeal not seen anywhere else.

China prefers to use tried-and-tested weapons, although they are by no means as antiquated as those used by the GLA. While being able to mobilize a large number of basic units quickly, China's main strengths have been demonstrated in the more advanced units that can only be deployed once a battle has been under way for some time. The PLA military doctrine emphasizes direct assault with massive numbers using heavy, slow units. This means that the PLA is suited for long, drawn-out battles of attrition.

Chinese infantry, like most Chinese units, gains bonuses when fighting en masse. They employ the cheap Red Guards, Tank Hunters, Hackers and the Elite spy Black Lotus. The Infantry General is known for deploying more well trained infantry such as the Minigunner.

Not as technologically advanced as the American forces and not as fast as their GLA enemies, the Chinese tend to use large vehicles and superior firepower to overwhelm the opponent. This is epitomized in the technologically advanced Overlord tank, a dual-cannon behemoth capable of literally rolling over other vehicles. They also use units like the Battlemaster tank, which are moderate cost, impressively armored and armed, these tanks are also very good when used en masse. Chinese forces extensively use tactical nuclear weaponry, napalm and flamethrowers, which also symbolize the great firepower that is China's trademark. Chinese air power however is limited when compared to the US. Their primary fighter aircraft is the MiG, which can be used in both air and ground attack roles. The Helix is also used as a ground support and transport helicopter.

One area in which the Chinese forces are weak is in intelligence. Unlike the USA or the GLA, China has limited battlefield surveillance ability and is forced to rely on Satellite Hacking. Its lack of fast units, with the exception of its air force, also makes scouting unknown terrain difficult and makes them exceptionally vulnerable to hit-and-run attacks.

In Maelstrom's Timeline, modern technology in China has reached its maximum potential including bigger tanks, human cloning and more powerful nuclear weapons. The addition of the Artillery General also gave birth to Incendiary and Tremor-based weapons that can leave areal damage for a long time. Alongside Kwai gaining more advance tesla-based technology from the Russians, Fai utilizing cloning to increase his manpower, and Leang advancements in ECM and EMP technology allowing her to control the battlefield, at the cost of forcing their entire military switching their missile to a more flak based technology, which is weaker but can fire faster an can't be intercepted.

The buildings of PLA are built in a fusion of modernity and traditional aesthetics: although most of them do designed with minimalistic perspectives, there is still some cultural influences in decorations such as gongs (Command Center), temple-shaped roofs (most buildings), Chinese Garden Pavilions (Nuclear Missile Silo) and sometimes a replica of China's historical artifacts (The Terracotta Army at Fai's Command Center). The buildings are made by a combination of metal and bricks with the scaffolding being reminiscent of modern construction sites. The production equipment inside consists of various machinery that, although generally do not require tedious manpower, still needs human intervention for monitoring and installing parts on detailed parts where machines can't. Besides, PLA's units seemed to be "slightly yellow-tinted" compared to US Army's units. Some of them even are directly derived from Soviet Union's military units (The MIG and Battlemaster are originally from the Soviet Union).

Notable members

 * Ta Hun Kwai: Tank General
 * Tsing Shi Tao: Nuclear Weapons (aka Nuke) General
 * Shin Fai: Infantry General
 * Yong Ha-neul: Artillery General
 * Leiong Leang: ECM General
 * Black Lotus: China's main terrain agent (hero unit)
 * Lin Zhong: Comms Officer (announcer)