Chinese President Xi Jinping may or may not have heard of American historian Alfred Thayer Mahan.

The Chinese fleet, of 300 vessels, is now one of the world’s largest. The US naval fleet of 490 vessels remains superior in quality, though only 287 of the ships are deployable.

China’s rapid naval build-up arms the country with both a spear to fight in areas far from its shores, and a shield to repel outside powers.

Not only is the Chinese navy capable of challenging American military dominance in the region, its fleet is also capable of projecting power from the Indo-Pacific to the Persian Gulf, the broader Atlantic and Latin America.

As its naval presence increases, it will be a challenge for China to manage other countries’ perceptions of its growing military assertiveness and the potential for conflict with other military powers.

But this is precisely why Xi sent a message about China’s peaceful rise when he addressed naval delegates from 61 countries at the naval parade in Qingdao.

China requires a modernised naval fleet to safeguard its 18,000km coastline and its global interests. Because it is the world’s largest merchandise exporter, China needs freedom and safety of navigation more than any country in the world.

Thus, instead of focusing on developing an invincible Chinese armada, China should do more to convince the world it is not another imperial Japan or Germany. Rather, it is just seeking its own place in the sun.

Cary Huang is a veteran China affairs columnist, having written on this topic since the early 1990s