China’s Male Leaders Signal to Women That Their Place Is in the Home

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Communist Party’s solution to the country’s demographic crisis and a slowing economy is to push women back into traditional roles.

At China’s top political gathering for women, it was mostly a man who was seen and heard.

Xi Jinping, the country’s leader, sat center stage at the opening of the National Women’s Congress. A close-up of him at the Congress was splashed on the front page of the Chinese Communist Party’s newspaper the next day. From the head of a large round table, Mr. Xi lectured female delegates at the closing meeting on Monday.

“We should actively foster a new type of marriage and childbearing culture,” he said in a speech, adding that it was the role of party officials to influence young people’s views on “love and marriage, fertility and family.”

The Women’s Congress, held every five years, has long been a forum for the ruling Communist Party to demonstrate its commitment to women. The gesture, while mostly symbolic, has taken on more significance than ever this year, the first time in two decades that there are no women in the party’s executive policymaking body.

What was notable was how officials downplayed gender equality. They focused instead on using the gathering to press Mr. Xi’s goal for Chinese women: get married and have babies. In the past, officials had touched on the role women play at home as well as in the work force. But in this year’s address, Mr. Xi made no mention of women at work. » | Alexandra Stevenson | Thursday, November 2, 2023

I should like to draw your attention to the fact that I have been saying this for a very long time. In fact, I recently stated something similar on this very blog. Allow me to restate it here:

“Western women need to start giving birth again. They need to start making babies instead of making careers. Feminism lies at the root of so many of our problems in Western societies. – © Mark Alexander” – Mark Alexander, October 28, 2023

Clearly, Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party have similar ideas and solutions for their own demographic problems. Fact is, far too few babies are being born in the West and in the East too. This was bound to manifest itself as a huge problem in time. Women cannot be both career girls and procreating, fertile mothers. It is either one or the other.

It is an economic fact of life that industry and commerce require sufficient labour. Regardless of technological advancement, this will always be so.

Politicians, especially on those on the right of the political spectrum, talk incessantly about the need for economic growth. This is quite understandable. However, what is not easy to understand is that they talk about economic growth as though it were simply a consequence of a reduction in taxation for the CEOs at the top. But it is not. What these politicians fail to understand is that without sufficient labour, CEOs, however clever and however entrepreneurial, cannot turn a profit at all!

Consider a colony of bees! There is the queen bee and then there are the worker bees. And so it is for humans, too. Where would companies be without the workers? And where do the workers come from when all women are out working?

To solve that, there is but ONE solution. We have to bring them in from abroad. And that is precisely what we have been doing for decades. But we should all know by now that bringing in foreigners by the drove can cause friction in societies, simply because immigration brings with it people entering the country with different religious backgrounds. When people have different religious backgrounds, they naturally have different values. Their aims, goals and ideas of how to live vary, often considerably, from those of the indigenous population's. Fact is, immigration should be allowed in proportion to the size of the country and the size of the indigenous population. If these principles are not adhered to, thre will be trouble ahead.

A German polician for whom I had the greatest respect and admiration was the late German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt. He spoke clearly about the dangers of immigration. In fact, it was only yesterday that I placed a #short up of his words on this very blog. For those who speak German, please click here. One of the things I so admired about Helmut Schmidt was that he was unafraid to uttter uncomfortable truths.

So, in summary, Xi Jinping and his Communist Party are absolutely right about this: society should start re-thinking the role of women in society. It is more important that a woman be productive giving birth than it is for her to be productive in the workplace. Men can run offices and businesses; but men cannot give birth to babies. – © Mark Alexander

With Putin by His Side, Xi Outlines His Vision of a New World Order

THE NEW YORK TIMES: China’s close ties with Russia in countering American dominance point to a geopolitical rift that could shape the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The leaders of China and Russia hailed each other as “old” and “dear” friends. They took swipes at the United States and depicted themselves as building a “fairer, multipolar world.” And they marveled at their countries’ “deepening” trust.

China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, used a Beijing-led conference of leaders from mostly developing countries on Wednesday to showcase his ambitions to reshape the global order, as the world grapples with a war in Ukraine and a crisis in Gaza. He cast his country as an alternative to the leadership of the United States. And he gave a prominent role to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, underscoring how central their relationship is to Mr. Xi’s vision.

The event, the Belt and Road Forum, is centered on China’s signature foreign policy initiative, which aims to expand Beijing’s influence abroad with infrastructure projects. Mr. Putin was treated as the guest of honor and often pictured by Mr. Xi’s side. The two leaders also met for three hours in Beijing on Wednesday.

While Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi huddled, President Biden landed in Israel on a visit aimed at preventing the war between Israel and Hamas from spreading. Though Mr. Xi did not publicly remark on the war, Mr. Putin, at a news briefing, blamed the United States for increasing tensions in the Middle East by sending warships to the region. He said that such regional conflicts were “shared threats that only strengthen Russo-Chinese relations.” (+ video) » | David Pierson, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Tiffany May | Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Xi Jinping Welcomes ‘Dear Friend’ Putin in Beijing

THE TELEGRAPH: The leaders have a shared vision for a new international order to counter the US and other democratic nations

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping meet at the Belt and Road summit in Beijing | SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV/AFP
Vladimir Putin met with his “dear friend” Xi Jinping as the two smiling leaders shook hands and posed for photos in Beijing to underline their “no limits” friendship.

The Russian president, who is wanted for war crimes, met with the Chinese leader at the Belt and Road summit on Tuesday which is marking the 10-year anniversary of China’s flagship global infrastructure project.

Putin was joined at the conference by a Taliban minister and the Kazakh president along with representatives from 130 other countries.

The Russian president was keen to cast himself as a close ally of China, telling reporters ahead of the trip: “President Xi Jinping calls me his friend, and I call him my friend, too.” » | Nicola Smith, Asia Correspondent and James Crisp, Europe Correspondent | Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Why Did Xi Jinping Send His Own Furniture When Travelling to the BRICS Meeting in South Africa? | #shorts

Find out why here.

Decoding Putin and Xi's Blueprint for a New World Order | DW Analysis

Sep 29, 2023 | China and Russia are getting closer. Rather than distancing himself from Vladimir Putin over his war against Ukraine, Xi Jinping is doubling down on the relationship. And Putin is becoming more and more dependent on Xi as an economic, military and geopolitical lifeline. Why is this happening? What do Xi and Putin want to achieve? And what does their relationship mean for the rest of the world?

DW’s Richard Walker goes on a deep dive into the roots of the Moscow-Beijing relationship. Finding how the two sides are an economic “match made in heaven.” How China’s People Liberation Army wouldn’t be where it is today without military supplies from Russia when it was frozen out from other suppliers. And how the personal bond between Putin and Xi is feeding into a joint mission by the two men to reshape the world.

This relationship has potentially deep implications for every nation on earth. In part 3, we explore the impact in three areas currently underestimated by many: the prospect of joint China-Russia nuclear weapons planning, the impact on India of Russia becoming subordinate to China, and the implications for the endgame of the Ukraine war.

Featuring interviews with leading experts including Alexander Gabuev, Bonnie Glaser, Zhou Bo, Garima Mohan, Wang Huiyao and Decker Eveleth.

What's behind China's Focus on the Arab World? | DW News

Dec 9, 2022 | Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on a "pioneering trip" to "open a new era of China's relations with the Arab world' - in Xi's own words. The visit is Xi's first to the kingdom in six years. The two countries affirmed their ties and signed a series of strategic deals - including one with tech giant Huawei. The Chinese leader is expected to meet more Gulf oil producers later.

Un article lié à cette vidéo ici.

Xi Jinping reçu en majesté en Arabie saoudite

LE MONDE : A Riyad pour trois jours, le numéro un chinois promeut une « nouvelle ère » dans les relations sino-arabes.

Xi Jinping et Mohammed Ben Salman, lors de la cérémonie d’accueil du président chinois à Riyad, la capitale saoudienne, le 8 décembre 2022. BANDAR AL-JALOUD / AFP
La scène a fait l’ouverture du journal télévisé chinois, jeudi 8 décembre, à 19 heures. On y voit le Boeing 747 d’Air China transportant Xi Jinping, d’abord escorté par quatre avions de chasse dans le ciel saoudien puis, une fois posé sur le tarmac à Riyad, survolé par six autres jets, laissant dans leur sillage une traînée rouge et jaune, les couleurs du drapeau chinois. Dans le même temps, vingt et un coups de canon saluent alors l’arrivée du président chinois.

Même si ni le roi Salman, ni le prince héritier Mohammed Ben Salman (« MBS ») n’étaient présents sur le tarmac pour accueillir le numéro un chinois, l’Arabie saoudite a réservé à celui-ci des honneurs auxquels le président américain Joe Biden n’avait pas eu droit lors de sa visite en juillet. Jeudi, une autre vidéo montre Xi Jinping descendre de sa berline chinoise Drapeau rouge escortée d’une garde d’honneur à cheval jusqu’au palais royal et serrant longuement la main du prince héritier. » | Par Frédéric Lemaître (Pékin, correspondant) | vendredi 9 décembre 2022

Article réservé aux abonnés

La majesté accordée à Xi Jinping par Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) lors de cette visite d'Etat n'augure rien de bon pour l'influence future des Etats-Unis, et par extension de l'Occident, dans le Golfe. L'éclipse future possible de l'influence américaine au Moyen-Orient laisse présager des changements majeurs à venir. – © Mark Alexander

'Xi Jinping, Step Down!': Anti-lockdown Protests Spread across China

Nov 27, 2022 | Demonstrations have broken out in cities and university campuses across China amid widespread anger at Covid lockdowns. The wave of civil disobedience was triggered by an apartment fire on Friday in which at least 10 people died in the west Xinjiang region. In an unusually bold act that appeared to indicate the level of people’s desperation, a crowd in Shanghai called for the removal of the Communist party and President Xi Jinping in a standoff with police on Saturday, according to videos circulated on Twitter. Chinese people usually refrain from criticising the party and its leaders in public for fear of reprisals Anti-lockdown protests spread in China as anger rises over zero-Covid strategy Depressed, powerless, angry: why frustration at China’s zero-Covid is spilling over

Chinese State Media Pushes Putin's Lies about Ukraine Invasion

Mar 10, 2022 • In public statements and at international summits, Chinese officials have attempted to stake out a seemingly neutral position on the war in Ukraine, neither condemning Russian actions nor ruling out the possibility Beijing could act as a mediator in a push for peace.

But while its international messaging has kept many guessing as to Beijing's true intentions, much of its domestic media coverage of Russia's invasion tells a wholly different story. CNN's David Culver reports.

Who Can Prevail on Putin Now War in Ukraine Has Started? Peace Depends on It

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: The Russian leader listens to China’s Xi Jinping and a circle of rich cronies. Only they may be able to prevent huge bloodshed

Russian president Vladimir Putin with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, 4 February 2022. Photograph: Alexei Druzhinin/AP
All Europe must have awoken this morning and heard the news with horror. Sometimes history refuses to die. The fate of 44 million Ukrainians at the mercy of Russia and its vast army is appalling to contemplate. Indeed, so wild and mendacious are the utterances of Vladimir Putin in the past 24 hours that they suggest a dictator deranged and out of control. It is precisely the danger that was forecast by strategic theorists at the dawn of the nuclear age.

As of this morning, Putin’s declared intention is to “demilitarise” Ukraine and assert Russia’s de facto sovereignty over the Donbas east of the country. The latter is chiefly an exaggeration of what Russia has done covertly since 2014. The former is hard to see other than as formal conquest. This is no longer some border dispute or separatist uprising, but the concerted assault of a great power on a substantial neighbour.

Ukraine’s friends and sympathisers have been fulsome in offering comfort and “support”. Ever since 1989, western Europe has been eager, perhaps over-eager, to welcome former Soviet bloc countries into its embrace. Many thought this a mistake. Offering Nato and EU membership up to Russia’s border was certain to inflame that country’s well-known sense of insecurity, but the risk was taken. At the same time any idea of including Ukraine and Georgia in that embrace was rightly thought a risk too far. Putin has now grotesquely proved that risk. » | Simon Jenkins | Thursday, February 24, 2022

AUF DEUTSCH:

China will keine Invasion erkennen: Erst vor Kurzem haben sich Xi Jinping und Wladimir Putin eine „Freundschaft ohne Grenzen“ versprochen. Wie weit reicht sie nach dem russischen Angriff auf die Ukraine? Von einer Invasion will man in Peking jedenfalls nichts wissen. »

Putin and Xi against the West: Democracy under Pressure? | To the Point

Feb 10, 2022 • Have Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping joined forces against the West?

Certainly, China has been using the Winter Olympics for a massive display of its political and economic might. Russia, meanwhile, continues to flex its muscles in the war of words over the future of Ukraine. Diplomatic efforts to ease the situation are in overdrive, including missions to Moscow and Washington.

So, this time round on TO THE POINT, we ask: Putin and Xi against the West: Democracy under pressure?

Our guests: Sudha David-Wilp (German Marshall Fund); Didi-Kirsten Tatlow (DGAP); Vladimir Esipov (DW)

L’Amérique latine, nouvelle terre de conquête pour la Chine?

La forte présence de la Chine de Xi Jinping en Amérique latine n’est pas sans conséquence sur l’environnement .POOL/REUTERS
LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - En vingt ans, la Chine est devenue l’un des principaux partenaires des pays latino-américains, bouleversant leur économie.

La Chine a, depuis l’épidémie de Covid-19, encore augmenté son influence en Amérique latine. Alors que les pays occidentaux se concentraient sur la fourniture à leurs populations de matériels médicaux et de vaccins, Pékin proposait aux pays latino-américains son aide. Le premier à en bénéficier fut le Venezuela. Dès mars 2020, des livraisons de matériel médical sont arrivées à Caracas. La Chine a poursuivi son effort vers la Bolivie, l’Équateur, l’Argentine. «Nous voulons remercier la République populaire de Chine de la rapidité avec laquelle elle a répondu à nos demandes», a déclaré le ministre des Affaires étrangères mexicain, Marcelo Ebrard, en 2020. En décembre 2021, le gouvernement de Xi Jinping a fait une seconde donation de vaccins au Nicaragua, après que ce pays a rompu ses liens diplomatiques avec Taïwan. La pandémie «a été très importante pour la Chine, car cela lui a fourni un nouveau moyen pour renforcer sa présence dans la région», expliquait à la BBC Pepe Zhang, membre du centre pour l’Amérique latine Adrienne Arsht. » | Par Patrick Bèle | Dimanche 6 février 2022

Réservé aux abonnés

À Pékin, Poutine et Xi Jinping accusent l’Occident de «créer l’instabilité»

Le président russe, Vladimir Poutine, et son homologue chinois, Xi Jinping, lors de leur rencontre, vendredi, à Pékin, en marge des Jeux olympiques. SPUTNIK/via REUTERS
À Moscou
LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - En marge de l’ouverture des JO d’hiver, et en pleine crise autour de l’Ukraine, les deux présidents ont cosigné une déclaration.

Cela fait deux ans que, pandémie oblige, Xi Jinping n’avait pas reçu d’homologue en visite d’État à Pékin. En 2014, le président chinois s’était rendu à l’ouverture des Jeux olympiques de Sotchi. Vendredi, Vladimir Poutine lui a rendu la politesse en assistant au coup d’envoi des JO d’hiver de Pékin. Mais, en huit ans, les tensions internationales se sont considérablement renforcées, incitant les deux dirigeants - qui se sont déjà rencontrés à trente reprises - à serrer davantage les rangs face à l’adversaire commun, l’Occident, incarné en premier lieu par les États-Unis. La «séquence», comme disent les diplomates, s’inscrit dans un contexte très dégradé: la guerre menace toujours en Ukraine tandis qu’à l’Est, en Asie-Pacifique, les menaces d’une conflagration autour de Taïwan sont latentes et persistantes. Avec, vu de Moscou comme de Pékin, un fauteur de troubles commun, les États-Unis et leurs alliances, l’Otan et Aukus, acronyme désignant l’union face à la Chine des Australiens, des Britanniques et des Américains. » | Par Alain Barluet | vendredi 4 février 2022

In Clash With U.S. Over Ukraine, Putin Has a Lifeline From China

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Biden could find his plans to punish Russia undermined by Xi Jinping, a longtime ally of Mr. Putin. But China moves cautiously during crises.

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, left, with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, in Moscow in 2019. The two will meet Friday before the start of the Olympics in Beijing. | Pool photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko
BEIJING — As the United States moves to exert maximal pressure on Russia over fears of a Ukraine invasion, the Russian leader, Vladimir V. Putin, has found relief from his most powerful partner on the global stage, China.

China has expressed support for Mr. Putin’s grievances against the United States and NATO, joined Russia to try to block action on Ukraine at the United Nations Security Council, and brushed aside American warnings that an invasion would create “global security and economic risks” that could consume China, too.

On Friday, Mr. Putin will meet in Beijing with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, ahead of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics that President Biden and other leaders have pointedly vowed to boycott.

Although details of any potential agreements between the two countries have not been disclosed, the meeting itself — Mr. Xi’s first in person with a world leader in nearly two years — is expected to be yet another public display of geopolitical amity between the two powers.

A Chinese promise of economic and political support for Mr. Putin could undermine Mr. Biden’s strategy to ostracize the Russian leader for his military buildup on Ukraine’s borders. It could also punctuate a tectonic shift in the rivalry between the United States and China that could reverberate from Europe to the Pacific. » | Steven Lee Myers and Edward Wong | Wednesday, February 2, 2022

The New World of Xi Jinping I ARTE.tv Documentary

Jan 12, 2022 • Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

On January 1oth, I posted this excellent documentary in German. You can watch it in German here.

Die neue Welt des Xi Jinping | Doku Reupload | ARTE

Jan 9, 2022 • Drei Jahre nachdem "Die Welt des Xi Jinping" (2018) mit großem Erfolg ausgestrahlt wurde, werfen die Regisseurin Sophie Lepault und ihr Co-Autor Romain Franklin erneut einen Blick auf China. Mehr als ein Jahr nach dem Ausbruch der Corona-Pandemie in Wuhan tut der chinesische Staatschef alles, damit China als großer Gewinner aus der Corona-Krise hervorgeht ...

Nach "Die Welt des Xi Jinping", der 2018 mit großem Publikumserfolg ausgestrahlt wurde, hinterfragen die Regisseurin Sophie Lepault und ihr Co-Autor, Romain Franklin, erneut die Weltmachtspolitik des chinesischen Staatschefs. Mehr als ein Jahr nach dem Ausbruch der Corona-Pandemie in Wuhan tut Xi Jinping alles, damit China als großer Gewinner aus der Corona-Krise hervorgeht, und inszeniert sich sogar in einer Ausstellung zum Ruhm seines angeblich bemerkenswerten Krisenmanagements. Xi Jinping nutzt wie üblich Nebelkerzen und Köder, um von Chinas wirklichen Verantwortlichkeiten abzulenken, und verfolgt seine politische und diplomatische Agenda mit einem einzigen Ziel: die Integration von Minderheiten in den chinesischen Riesen, selbst wenn das bedeutet, auf Gewalt zurückzugreifen. Völkermord an den Uiguren, die fortschreitende Unterdrückung der Autonomie Hongkongs, eine zunehmend bedrohliche Präsenz im Chinesischen Meer, mit einem kaum verhohlenen Ziel: die Vereinnahmung Taiwans. Auch die Aufklärung der Ursprünge der Corona-Pandemie scheint mehr verschleiert und verschleppt als befördert zu werden. Die Ambitionen des Reichs der Mitte werden durch die immer selbstbewussteren Auftritte des chinesischen Staatschefs bestätigt. Mehr denn je sendet Xi Jinping unmissverständliche Zeichen, dass China auf wirtschaftlichem, militärischem und diplomatischem Gebiet zur führenden Weltmacht avancieren will.

Dokumentarfilm von Sophie Lepault (F 2021, 90 Min)

Shutting Down Historical Debate, China Makes It a Crime to Mock Heroes

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Under a new law, China has zealously prosecuted even the perceived slander of Communist figures, broadening Xi Jinping’s campaign to dominate party orthodoxy.

A painting showing Mao with Red Army soldiers and officers at the National Art Museum in Beijing during the exhibition “100 Years Toward Greatness” in June. | Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times
The young woman in Beijing began her post complaining about mobs gathering online, where recluses vent misogynistic insecurities from the safety of desk chairs. As provocative as it was, it might have passed unnoticed except that she added another beat.

She mocked the toxic masculinity of users imagining themselves as Dong Cunrui, a textbook war hero who, according to Chinese Communist Party lore, died valiantly during the civil war that brought the party to power in 1949.

For that passing reference, the woman, 27 and identified in court only by her last name, Xu, was sentenced last month to seven months in prison.

Her crime: violating a newly amended criminal code that punishes the slander of China’s martyrs and heroes. Since it went into effect in March, the statute has been enforced with a revolutionary zeal, part of an intensified campaign under China’s leader, Xi Jinping, to sanctify the Communist Party’s version of history — and his vision for the country’s future. » | Steven Lee Myers | Tuesday, November 2, 2021

‘Starting a Fire’: U.S. and China Enter Dangerous Territory over Taiwan

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The self-ruled island has moved to the heart of deepening discord and rivalry between the two superpowers, with the potential to ignite military conflagration and reshape the regional order.

Taiwanese helicopters flying through Taipei, the capital. China’s growing military might has for the first time made a conquest of Taiwan conceivable, perhaps even tempting. | Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times
The 25 Chinese fighter jets, bombers and other warplanes flew in menacing formations off the southern end of Taiwan, a show of military might on China’s National Day, Oct. 1. The incursions,dozens upon dozens, continued into the night and the days that followed and surged to the highest numbers ever on Monday, when 56 warplanes tested Taiwan’s beleaguered air defenses.

Taiwan’s jets scrambled to keep up, while the United States warned China that its “provocative military activity” undermined “regional peace and stability.” China did not cower. When a Taiwanese combat air traffic controller radioed one Chinese aircraft, the pilot dismissed the challenge with an obscenity involving the officer’s mother.

As such confrontations intensify, the balance of power around Taiwan is fundamentally shifting, pushing a decades-long impasse over its future into a dangerous new phase.

After holding out against unification demands from China’s communist rulers for more than 70 years, Taiwan is now at the heart of the deepening discord between China and the United States. The island’s fate has the potential to reshape the regional order and even to ignite a military conflagration — intentional or not. » | By Chris Buckley and Steven Lee Myers | Saturday, October 9, 2021

Related.

Xi bekräftigt Anspruch auf "Wiedervereinigung" mit Taiwan: Mitten in einer angespannten Lage betont Chinas Staats- und Parteichef den Grundsatz der „friedlichen Wiedervereinigung“ mit Taiwan. Dieser spielt eine zentrale Rolle in der Ideologie der KP. »

Xi Jinping Vows Taiwan’s ‘Reunification’ with China Will Be Fulfilled

THE GUARDIAN: Chinese president says island’s ‘independence separatism’ is a ‘danger to national rejuvenation’ following a week of tension

Xi Jinping has said Taiwan’s ‘reunification’ must happen. Photograph: Carlos García Rawlins/Reuters
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has vowed to realise “reunification” with Taiwan, without mentioning the use of force, after a week of tensions.

Taiwan responded shortly after by calling on Beijing to abandon its coercion, reiterating that only Taiwan’s people could decide their future.

Democratically run Taiwan has come under increased military and political pressure to accept Beijing’s sovereignty, but Taiwan says it is an independent country, using its formal name: the Republic of China.

Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Saturday, Xi said the Chinese people had a “glorious tradition” of opposing separatism.

“Taiwan’s independence separatism is the biggest obstacle to achieving the reunification of the motherland, and the most serious hidden danger to national rejuvenation,” he said on the anniversary of the revolution that overthrew China’s last imperial dynasty in 1911. Taiwan marks 10 October, when the revolution began, as its national day. » | Staff and agencies | Saturday, October 9, 2021

Is China Stepping Up Its Ambition to Supplant US as Top Superpower?

THE GUARDIAN: Analysis: Joe Biden has cleared the decks to focus on China. But how imminent is the danger?

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. The US president was prepared to take diplomatic risks to form the Aukus pact. | Photograph: Reuters
It may have been an inelegantly, even ineptly, executed pivot, gratuitously alienating key allies, but by leaving Afghanistan and forming the Australian, US and UK security pact in the Indo-Pacific, Joe Biden has at least cleared the decks to focus on his great foreign policy challenge – the systemic rivalry with China.

Yet the concern now is how quickly this rivalry could escalate, especially in Taiwan. The linchpin of the US alliance system in south-east Asia, Taiwan is the biggest island in the “first island chain”, the group of islands that keeps China blocked in. It is China’s next target, and as the former British prime minister Theresa May pointed out, no one quite knows if the west is prepared to fight to save Taiwan or whether the new tripartite pact in some way places a new obligation on the UK to come to the country’s defence.

Chinese nationalist outlets, enthusiastic chroniclers of the end of the American empire, have certainly interpreted the US pullout from Afghanistan through the prism of Beijing’s claim on Taiwan. The Global Times predicted that Afghanistan showed that in the event of a war in the strait, Taiwan’s defence would “collapse in hours and the US military will not come to help”. The US, it said, had shown it did not have the stomach for a fight.

US policy for 40 years has been one of strategic ambiguity leaving unanswered what the it might do in the event of an invasion. Tracts predicting conflict with China have been pouring out for decades. In what is often called the bible of the modern China threat school, Richard Bernstein and Ross Munro warned of The Coming Conflict with China as early 1997. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Wednesday, September 22, 2021

A related discussion on 60 Minutes Australia here.