<p>The changing balance of military power between China and the US in the west Pacific during the post-Cold War era has shaped the global security landscape. The era gap in military technology between the US and China arose from the superpower arms race and the transformation of Chinese security environment during the Cold War. The concentrated and sustainable Chinese military modernization, coupled with frequent changes of US strategic orientations during the post-Cold War era, contributed to the elimination of the era gap. Although the US puts more emphasis on technological competition and application of new technologies to consolidate its military advantage, it is unlikely that the era gap will return in the foreseeable future. Technology innovation is no longer a game changer in military balance, although it remains as necessity for military strategies of great power as new emerging technologies become available and geopolitics become more unstable.</p>