[kevin_in_so_cal]

>The US and the chicom's have been flinging a lot poo at each other of late...

Yes, they have. This one is easy to see through. If it was not meant to be pointed at the Americans, they wouldn't have used the imperial system to define their intentions. "China to survey every inch" is a very peculiar thing for a Chinese person to say.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

I agree and thank you for your insight into Chinese culture.

[GeorgeKant]

If it was not meant to be pointed at the Americans, they wouldn't have used the imperial system to define their intentions. "China to survey every inch" is a very peculiar thing for a Chinese person to say.

Not very peculiar at all. There is a Chinese unit of measurement called the "cun" (1 cun = 3.1cm) that roughly corresponds to an English inch and is used colloquially. Similarly, there is a Chinese unit called "che" (1 che = 31cm) that corresponds to the English foot. 10 cun's make one che. It is common to translate "cun" and "che" as "inch" and "foot" into English.

Though the Chinese officially use the metric system, colloquial phrases and rough estimations are still commonly conducted using the traditional Chinese system of measurement.