https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-was-really-going-be-casino-187052
Posted on 01/06/2024 8:34:05 PM PST by SeekAndFind
American foreign policy experts have long argued that China has been laying the groundwork for a permanent rise as a major global power, and U.S. politicians (particularly on the Republican side) have certainly counted the ways in which China is clearly our No. 1 geopolitical foe.
However, China's ascendency isn't without its setbacks, and at times it seems possible that China is closer to declining than rising. Their economy hasn't recovered since COVID-19, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has been dealing with more internal struggles than were previously let on.
One such problem for the leader of the Chinese Communist Party is growing corruption in his military, which recently came to a head - and a major purge.
US intelligence indicates that President Xi Jinping’s sweeping military purge came after it emerged that widespread corruption undermined his efforts to modernize the armed forces and raised questions about China’s ability to fight a war, according to people familiar with the assessments.
The corruption inside China’s Rocket Force and throughout the nation’s defense industrial base is so extensive that US officials now believe Xi is less likely to contemplate major military action in the coming years than would otherwise have been the case, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing intelligence.
The new report, which comes from Bloomberg, indicates a lot of problems for Xi as he tries to extend China's influence to counter the West.
Rampant corruption comes with the territory when it comes to having complete control over every aspect of your country, including the economy. According to U.S. intelligence, "corruption within the People’s Liberation Army has led to an erosion of confidence in its overall capabilities, particularly when it comes to the Rocket Force, and also set back some of Xi’s top modernization priorities."
The corruption, however, has resulted in some hilarious setbacks for Xi, according to the Bloomberg report, "including missiles filled with water instead of fuel and vast fields of missile silos in western China with lids that don’t function in a way that would allow the missiles to launch effectively."
U.S. think tanks and defense contractors believe that Xi aims to have a completely modernized military that is capable of taking on any global power by 2027. One such example is the rapid assembly of aircraft carriers and other naval vessels at a rate that far outpaces the U.S. Navy. But just because they can be rapidly assembled doesn't mean they're ready to go right away.
Other reports suggest China could have five aircraft carriers by 2030. However, some experts are skeptical that Beijing will use its aircraft carriers as intended for at least a decade. Instead, they think the vessels are more for propaganda purposes at this point.
“Carrier operations are a very complicated game, and China’s got to figure this out all by itself. It still has a long, long way to go,” TREVOR HOLLINGSBEE, a former British naval intelligence analyst, told Reuters in May.
But U.S. officials are frustrated by the fact that there is very little intelligence to go on when it comes to monitoring what Xi Jinping is up to. A purge of spies in China has left the U.S. blind, as we reported last week.
But is the U.S. overestimating China's rapid rise?
There is a lot of reason to believe that China is a global adversary - they've said as much in response to U.S. actions over the years - and the question often seems to be less "if" we'll go to war with China and more "when." But what little reporting we get out of China does suggest that the economic and military rise of China in the modern era may have already peaked.
It's impossible to say for sure, considering we are flying blind when it comes to gathering intelligence. But what we do know is that China isn't without its own issues, and that may benefit the U.S. in the long run.
All the global powers are collapsing under the weight of their own domestic problems: corruption in Russia and China, wokeism, bureaucracy, and internal division in the US and Europe. And demographic decline is the elephant in the room.
I should have added “lack of leadership” in the US and Europe.
Sounds like something Gordon Chang would write.
Who is Gordon Chang? I’m not familiar with him.
We really don’t know much about China’s economic status and some of the Covid footage they put out was so obviously fake that it was clear it was meant to scare the comfy, brain-dead citizens of the West into quarantines and lock-downs.
Taiwan needs to be tough and rely on support from USA (and Japan) and they'll be fine.
Who’s doing the best? Islam. The only thing that’s stopping them is that they’re not as technologically advanced. But other than that, they have everything.
This writer is an idiot.
He thinks corruption in Chicomland has not been endemic and rampant for decades?
He unknowingly admits his ignorance and idiocy here: “ Xi Jinping has been dealing with more internal struggles than were previously let on.”
He is too stupid to have known anything.
Apparently Xi doesn’t understand the meaning of “Made in China.”
Welcome to the party, pal, your products suck!
Everyone in China is corrupt, from the Central Committee down to the fruit monger on the curb.
Worse than us, even.
And their age pyramid is the wrong shape.
islam suffers from islam.
Culturally, politically, economically, morally, technologically, socially, basically everything that matters, they’re in the bronze age at best. What little they are capable of is to co-opt western advances for their medieval cause. A large and dangerous bunch of wastrels incapable of managing any country well.
I was sure this would be the Bee… 🤔
I disagree. Islam tends to dominate. Their only weakness is that they are not as advanced when it comes to technology. That’s their achilles’ heel. Otherwise, they’re pretty much unstoppable.
Islam isn’t even a contender in this race. What Islam has is unbounded fervor in a misguided message, acouple of gripes, and loads of weapons from the discount bin at the five and dime.
They never had the necessary societal infrastructure for inventions and innovation.
So India will have to stand up to Islam.
The dark horse is Latin America.
Islam may have a simple message but it is clear. You have to submit to Islam.
LMAO!!! Water rockets! What a MAROON!
Lol.
True.
Hey Xi Jinping: Change your name to Yu Dum Duk.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-was-really-going-be-casino-187052
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