American foreign policy experts argue that China is laying the foundations for its permanent rise to become a major world power. And politicians in the United States (especially on the Republican side), have clearly stated how China is our number one geopolitical enemy.
China’s rise is not without setbacks. At times, it may seem that China is more on the decline than ascending. China’s economy has not recovered since COVID-19 and President Xi Jinping is dealing with internal struggles that were previously hidden.
The Chinese Communist Party leader has a problem with the growing corruption within his military. This recently reached a boiling point and led to a major purge.
US intelligence suggests that President Xi Jinping’s sweeping purge of the military came after widespread corruption undermined the efforts to modernize his armed forces, and raised concerns about China’s ability to wage war.
According to people who declined to be identified when discussing intelligence, the corruption within China’s Rocket Force, and the defense industry base, is so widespread that US officials believe Xi will not consider major military action for the next few years.
Bloomberg’s new report indicates that Xi faces many problems as he tries his best to expand China’s influence to counter the West.
When you have complete control of every aspect of your nation, including its economy, corruption will inevitably be rampant. According to U.S. Intelligence, “corruption in the People’s Liberation Army led to an erosion of its overall capabilities, especially when it comes to the Rocket Force, and also set back Xi’s most important modernization goals.”
Bloomberg reported that Xi’s corruption has led to some hilarious setbacks, including missiles with water in place of fuel, and large fields of missile silos with lids that don’t work in a manner that would allow missiles to be launched effectively.
U.S. defense contractors and think tanks believe Xi wants to have a fully modernized military capable of taking on all global powers by 2027. As an example, the U.S. Navy is far behind in the assembly of aircraft carriers. Just because they are quickly assembled does not mean that they’re immediately ready for use.
According to other reports, China may have five aircraft carriers in 2030. Some experts, however, are skeptical about Beijing’s ability to use its aircraft carrier as intended for the next decade. They think that the vessels are being used more for propaganda at this time.
“Carrier operations is a very complex game and China has to figure it out on its own.” TREVOR HOLLINGSBEE told Reuters that China still had a long way to travel.
The U.S. government is frustrated that it has very little information to monitor what Xi Jinping does. As we reported last Thursday, the U.S. is blind after a purge of Chinese spies.
Is the U.S. underestimating China’s rapid growth?
It’s not a question of “if” but rather “when” we will go to war against China. The little information we do get from China suggests that China’s economic and military growth in the modern age may have peaked.
We can’t be sure because we lack intelligence. We do know that China has its problems, which may be beneficial to the U.S.
