No longer satisfied by incursions around Taiwan waters–Now
China has sailed one of its three aircraft carriers near the U.S. territory of Guam, Japanese officials confirmed, ending an already combative year with a rare move that Beijing signaled as a clear warning to the Biden administration over Taiwan.
Chinese state news framed the deployment as an overt provocation to the U.S. and a warning against continuing behavior this year that has outraged Beijing.
Xi’s China is in a major decline from here. China is at the pinnacle of her power. This too shall pass. Xi can just shut up already.
Xi can still cause a lot of havoc in the world if he wishes. Will he follow a Putin path?
In August 2022, China launched its largest military exercises in a generation — seen by many as a rehearsal for a blockade or even invasion.
Increasingly, China makes no bones about its goals.
The Chinese public can drag his corpse through the streets like he was Mussolini. Would it really surprise you if that happened?
O yes it would. The CCP response with its military would make the Tiananmen Square massacre like small potatoes in comparison. The killings/deaths would likely rival Mao’s Great Leap Forward.
It has happened before, it can happen again.
Besides in a popularity contest how do the Chinese military leaders think and feel about Xi? I get he controls key military positions. We have no idea how shaky his hold on power is.
As we used to say in America, “it is the economy stupid”. Xi is in trouble. Xi is in trouble before he even begins.
Yes, I think China knows that a Pearl Harbor event would be a big mistake. That is one way to unify thinking in the US. Steps less than that, saber rattling, etc can keep us debating the issue for decades. Our system of government lends itself to indecision. China and Russia know this is a major weakness of our system.
I was not referring to China doing anything to the US or Japan.
I am saying for China to convulse and kill tens of millions of her own is in the cards. When who knows but Xi needs to watch his back. Like every good little man in total power.
Jeff
Sign of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”?
China and Russia should “strengthen strategic coordination” and “inject more stability into the world,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin via video link on Friday, according to Chinese state media Xinhua.
China is “ready to work” with Russia to “stand against hegemonism and power politics” to oppose unilateralism, protectionism and “bullying,” as well as to safeguard sovereignty, security, as well as international equity and justice, Xi said, according to Chinese state media.
Putin said that China and Russia have maintained a “sound momentum of development” in the midst of the “current complex and severe international situation,” the media report added.
Putin said the two had progressed cooperation in various fields, including energy, agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, sports and people-to-people exchanges, the report further added.
Jeff
Total BS. China views Russia as a weakling that dissipated whatever real power they had by “not doing communism correctly” along with a misguided interlude of bastardized capitalism. And China views Russians as drunk low life expectancy drones, with anyone who rises above it wanting to leave Russia as soon as possible.
China only wants cheap energy and materials from Russia, just liker they want from other parts of the world (Africa, South/Central America, etc).
Just like America does…
That may be true. But America also wants those countries to increase individual freedom, while China wants them to decrease individual freedom. And even that desire may be a self-interest of America’s because we don’t want to fight any more world wars to at least ensure some freedom around the world. But there’s nothing wrong with self-interest when it also helps others.
Mark,
Charles de Gaul once said that “France doesn’t have allies, but France has interests”. Regardless of Xi’s oppiniion of either Russia or Putan, Russia is a tool which can benefit France with:
Some people are in love with their tools, but others just use them
Jeff
The sinking of China going on the RMB is pegged to the USD. That will never make for a reserve currency. Far from it, instead China is seeing an unending economic mess.
That is what you get for trying to leap frog a national economy based on a peg to the dollar.
Russia was a minor market that is now worthless. Unless the west gives a post Putin Russia a pass there is no revival of the Russian economy.
There is not that much gold involved. Which is the reason modern western economies are not on the gold standard. Russia would get scr@w by China in such a deal. Ok by me.
China economically peaked in 2019. The declines are going to be ongoing for more than the next decade. The Chinese military had projects in the pipeline but has now peaked as well. China can not afford to expand and does not have the resources to expand militarily or economically. The country is done.
Not sure how or why you would see things differently. It is not adding up. Or it is very outdated.
The worst thing economically for China is Xi. He has four left feet. He is a complete unmitigated disaster. You could not ask for a worse putz to run a country.
If we went to war tomorrow with China the odds of us winning over a three month period are very high because China has Xi in power. He could not figure out what time it is standing in front a digital clock. He is a dunce which is all it takes to be a strong man.