Foreign policy in the United States and the Western world has been fearful of China’s constant rise. We have taken measures to halt or delay their rise.
With its less than stellar record in foreign policy, the Biden administration is trying to balance between being tougher with China and moving away a world-centric American order. The first is a misreading China’s position, and the second is bad policy.
Fair enough, the Biden administration has worked on policies to suppress Chinese technological innovation with a focus on computer chip. The Chips Act is a policy heavily promoted by the Biden Administration. It’s just one tool the U.S. uses. It has sometimes seemed that the administration is taking the Chinese threat very seriously.
Recently, the Biden administration began taking steps to sanction China for its aiding Russia in the conflict against Ukraine.
As part of Vladimir Putin’s strategy to expand Russia’s influence through the borders from Soviet times, Russia is still involved in a conflict with Ukraine. China has supported Russia’s efforts and Chinese companies have provided direct assistance to Russia. CNBC reports that both the Biden administration as well as Congress have considered sanctions against these Chinese entities.
Members of Congress have told CNBC that the U.S. may impose sanctions on Chinese firms it believes are aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine. This is the first time since the beginning of the conflict that Beijing has been directly blamed.
On Saturday, Democratic Senator Gerald Connolly of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations said that Congress was already considering similar plans following the proposal made by the European Union last week.
These provisions will be the first time that Beijing is directly penalized for its military support of Russia, despite Western suspicions about this long-standing practice.
If the U.S., and EU, stand firm on this issue, it could mark a significant change in China’s policy.
It is surprising that we don’t do more sooner. The Western foreign policy establishment believes that China is on the rise, but when you look at a few key factors in China, it appears to be on the decline. Consider this recent story where Xi Jinping was forced to purge the military. The corruption in Communist China is increasing as contractors filled Chinese missiles with bottled water, pocketing the money from the gas.
According to intelligence reports and analysis, rapid modernization in the Chinese military could have created a “paper tiger” for China, just as it did for Russia.
U.S. defense contractors and think tanks believe that Xi aims for a fully modernized military capable of taking on all global powers by 2027. As an example, the U.S. Navy is far behind in the assembly of naval vessels and aircraft carriers. Just because they are quickly assembled does not mean that they’re immediately ready for use.
Take into account that the once-powerful economy is now undergoing a deflationary crisis, which is threatening to cause real economic turmoil.
According to recent data, China has experienced its steepest drop in consumer prices since over 14 years. Producer prices have also fallen by 2.5 percent for the 16th consecutive month. This indicates that China is at risk of a prolonged deflation, which could be exacerbated by issues such as a real estate crash, stock market decline, investor loss, weaker exports, and low consumer demand. Although there were expectations of a temporary price recovery in February because of the Lunar New Year, China’s current economic problems – excess supply and insufficient demand – remain.
China has been suspected for a long time of manipulating both its currency and economic data. We’re fairly sure that China lied about the COVID-19 virus, the people who died and the source of the virus throughout the pandemic. Ironically, the level of control Xi Jinping’s party has over China makes it easy to assign blame. The country’s problems are a direct result of their absolute control.
U.S. defense contractors and think tanks believe Xi wants to have a fully modernized military capable of taking on every global power by the year 2027. As an example, the U.S. Navy is far behind in the assembly of naval vessels and aircraft carriers. Just because they are quickly assembled does not mean that they’re immediately ready for use.
Take into account that the once-powerful economy is now in a deflationary crisis, which threatens real economic turmoil for the country.
According to recent data, China has experienced its steepest drop in consumer prices since over 14 years. Producer prices have also fallen by 2.5 percent for the 16th consecutive month. This indicates that China is at risk of a prolonged deflation, which could be exacerbated by issues such as a real estate crash, stock market decline, investor loss, weaker exports, and low consumer demand. Although there were expectations of a temporary price recovery in February because of the Lunar New Year, China’s current economic problems – excess supply and insufficient demand – remain.
China has been suspected for a long time of manipulating both its currency and economic data. We’re fairly sure that China lied about the COVID-19 virus, the people who died and the source of the virus throughout the pandemic. Ironically, the level of control Xi Jinping’s party has over China makes it easy to assign blame. The country’s problems are a direct result of their absolute control.
