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.
Go to You Tube and look at the videos of what things are like in China. Buildings that fall down because they’re made of crap, ‘’steel rebar’’ that’s actually breakable plastic. The corruption in China is mind blowing.
A couple of western expats in China traveled around on motorcycles videoing life in China, until the government chased them out.
Here’s their segment from a year ago about China’s ghost cities. Check out other videos on their channel
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ8JBTIVUVw&pp=ygUJU2VycGVudHph
China’s population may be shrinking, but they still can’t feed themselves.
Donna Chang perhaps
Dontcha need a HUGE air compressor to “charge” those missiles using water as fuel?
Well, unlike the examples of Russia, China, the US, and Europe, the Islamic world isn't unified politically. And there's a giant split between Shiite and Sunni.
But Islam is doing the best demographically, both in fertility rate and in invasion via migration. The migration part we can put a stop to in the West, if we only have the will.
Our low fertility rate is something we in the West will have to address, with or without competition from Muslims. (Also, Muslim fertility may drop as their countries become more developed, as has happened elsewhere in the world.)
But ultimately the invasion by migration is the key:
• If our fifth column keeps us from stopping the migration, we are doomed.
• If we do stop the migration, things will work out OK — we can defeat the Islamic world militarily as long as we're fighting only an external threat.
Yeah, I don’t believe anything coming out of the CCP. They’re even bigger liars than our government.
Islam, like Africa is primitive as they are fundamentally tribal based.
The submission thing? You can get in but you can’t get out. There is NO liberty, rights, nor freedom....freedom of choice to leave for another religion.
Apostacy or freedom of choicea is punishable by death.
I think China is very good at what they do.
They make lots. And lots. Almost everything.
Your computer, your phone, your car, what don’t they make.
Once the furor dies down, the old policies will return - there is just too much money to be made. If you think the Russian military is corrupt, China’s is even more so.
Mostly they assemble parts made elsewhere.
How did all the spies get rounded up?
Who sold them out?
The major flaw in this article is the reliance and reference on US intelligence.
How did all the spies get rounded up? Who sold them out?
—
Who sold them out? all one has to do is offer a large enough bride and ‘spies’ or informants will come out of the woodwork to collect. Without bribes, China would collapse overnight.
Turkey is doing well...
I have watched several videos of Chinese carrier operations. They take 10 minutes to get a jet from the lower deck to the flight deck and launched. Each elevator can only fit one aircraft and it is parked with the wheel right on the outer edge of the elevator so the nose can clear it.
How many planes can we launch in ten minutes from one of our aircraft carriers?
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