China Gears Up to Weaponize Rare Earths in Trade War

As previously documented several times and warned about in the past, the threat of China’s rare earth monopol is being weaponized. This wasn’t suddenly an issue that popped up under Trump because Trump happens to be the current U.S. President. It was one threat of many in the making by China used as a means to an end, with the end game being a United States defeat — eventually militarily.

For further information, see the following previous posts:

Rare Earths Rouse Pentagon Fears

China Is Beating the US in the Rare-Earths Game

China warns of backlash if U.S. presses rare-earths case with WTO

Rare-Earth Market

Rare Earths, Oil, Gas, Other Commodities Up For Grabs As Arctic States Grants China, India, Japan, Other Select Nations ‘Observer Status’

Report: US military too reliant on foreign suppliers

China Threatens to Pull Pin on Global Economic Hand Grenade

 

The U.S. shouldn’t underestimate China’s ability to fight the trade war, the People’s Daily, a flagship newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, said in an editorial Wednesday that used some historically significant language on the weight of China’s intent.

The newspaper’s commentary included a rare Chinese phrase that means “don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The specific wording was used by the paper in 1962 before China went to war with India, and “those familiar with Chinese diplomatic language know the weight of this phrase,” the Global Times, a newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party, said in an article last April. It was also used before conflict broke out between China and Vietnam in 1979.

China Unveils New ‘Sky Hawk’ Stealth Drone

(Photo Credit: Chinese Internet)

 

Video of the unmanned aircraft conducting test flights aired on CCTV.

The Chinese government has provided the world with the first glimpse of its new state-of-the-art stealth drone, the “Sky Hawk,” which was shown Saturday for the first time on China Central Television.

Xi Tells PLA to ‘Prepare for War’ in South China Sea, Taiwan

(Photo Credit: The Kremlin/www.kremlin.ru)

 

Details of the Chinese president’s speech were not made public for nearly 24 hours.

Today, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post has reported that state-controlled CCTV broadcaster has reported on a Thursday speech made by Chinese President Xi Jinping in which he told the military region responsible for monitoring the South China Sea and Taiwan to “prepare for war.”

China ‘nearing mass production’ of J-20 stealth fighter after engine problems ironed out

China’s new J-20 stealth fighter could soon go into mass production as earlier problems with its engine have now been resolved, sources say. Photo: EPA

 

Improved power train will give Chinese jet ability to fly undetected at supersonic speeds, on par with United States’ F-35

A new and improved engine designed to make China’s J-20 stealth fighter a world-class combat jet should be ready for mass production by the end of the year, military sources have said.

The WS-15 engine features cutting-edge single-crystal turbine blades and has been in development for several years, but Chinese technicians have struggled to get it into mass production.

China: New missile, DF-41, expected to be deployed next year

China’s new weapon gives its military some powerful advantages. Picture: Greg Baker/AFP

 

BEIJING’S new missile is so precise, none of its launches have ended in failure. And this weapon is more than capable of hitting the United States.

In comparison, North Korea’s Hwasong-15, which was launched yesterday, has an estimated range of 13,000km.

China’s People Daily newspaper revealed the DF-41 could enter service as early as the first half of next year.

Military expert Yang Chengjun told a TV program broadcasted on China Central Television (CCTV) earlier this week the DF-41 is China’s latest strategic missile and was quick, mobile and precise.

China’s DF-41 ICBM could enter service in 2018, says report

China’s Dong Feng-41 (DF-41) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) could enter service as early as the first half of 2018, the state-owned Global Times newspaper reported on 19 November following media reports stating that the ICBM possibly underwent another test a few weeks ago.

China Reveals Images of New Hypersonic Strike Aircraft

 

Ultra high-speed vehicles shown for first time on state-run television

China has disclosed the first images of secret hypersonic strike aircraft that are being developed to deliver nuclear warheads through U.S. missile defenses. State-run CCTV on Oct. 8 broadcast images of four different vehicles or missiles that U.S. intelligence agencies believe are mockups of hypersonic strike vehicles, including one known as DF-ZF.

It is the first time images of the hypersonic aircraft were made public.

New Chinese agency set up for high-tech weapons development

Source: CCTV

 

The body, dubbed the Scientific Research Steering Committee, will have a broader focus than the Military-Civil Integration Development Commission set up by Xi Jinping earlier this year. According to defense ministry spokesperson Wu Qian, the group will help manage strategy for scientific development, while coordinating “civilian-military integration,” or cooperation with private sector contractors.

China Space Plan to Develop “Strength and Size”

In this image taken and made from CCTV, Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping, seen on screen, listens to a question from a school girl in Beijing, China, during a live broadcast from onboard the Tiangong 1 space station, June 20, 2013.

 

China wants to develop “strength and size” in its space program, a China National Space Administration official said last week. In the next five years, the country plans to speed up the development of its space program. China wants to become the first country to carry out a controlled landing of a probe on the far side of the moon in 2018. China also has plans to launch its first probe to the planet Mars by 2020.

China released an official policy proposal, known as a white paper. The document provides details of China’s plans for space exploration for the next five years. It was released by the State Council Information Office last Tuesday.

“To explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is a dream we pursue unremittingly,” the white paper said. China says it will use space for peaceful purposes, to guarantee national security and to carry out new scientific research according to the paper.

China to re-brand itself in new year with ‘soft power’ media offensive

China’s largest television network has re-launched its international on-air and online presence in an effort to promote “positive propaganda” overseas.

Central China Television (CCTV) launched the new overseas offensive on Jan. 1 via the newly-named China Global Television Network (CGTN).

China Flight-Tests 10 DF-21 Missiles

DF-21 salvo launch

Show of force comes amid transition to Trump

China’s military conducted a salvo of 10 missile flight tests late last month in a show of force during the transition to the Donald Trump administration.

Chinese state media reported Thursday that the simultaneous flight tests of 10 DF-21 intermediate-range ballistic missiles were carried out in China.

China Warns of a Trade War with U.S. Under Donald Trump

Last night, Chinese President Xi Jinping rang up President-elect Donald Trump to congratulate him on his recent election win.

During the phone call, Xi stressed the need for cooperation between China and the United States in terms of trade, reported Beijing’s state-run TV channel China Central Television (CCTV) this morning.

China Communist Party declares Xi Jinping ‘core’ leader

China’s ruling Communist Party declared its General Secretary Xi Jinping the “core” of its leadership on Thursday, elevating his already powerful status.

A communique issued by top party leaders after a four-day meeting in Beijing called on all its members to “closely unite around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core”, said the People’s Daily, the party’s official mouthpiece.

The announcement followed a gathering of 400 top party leaders in Beijing for a meeting known as the Sixth Plenum to discuss changes to party structure and discipline.

China releases footage of mid-air ballistic missiles destroying target miles above the Earth

Video available for viewing at the source.

 

The footage is the first time their test – which took place six years ago – has been seen by the public and it could be warning shot to the US

China has released footage of its first interception test of a mid-air ballistic missile, destroying a target miles above Earth .

Video shows the land-based rocket blast off into the sky in a blinding white light, before hurtling towards what looks like a small white dot above the planet’s atmosphere.

PLA unveils new weapons for air and sea combat following Hague tribunal ruling

Military vehicles carry DF-16 ballistic missiles in Tiananmen Square last September. Photo: Imaginechina

 

 

Rare disclosure of arsenal seen as warning to US not to provoke military confrontation

The Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army unveiled a series of new weapons for sea and air combat during a visit by top military officers.

In a rare revelation, the weapons were shown on state television in the wake of a landmark international tribunal rejecting Beijing’s claims to almost all of the South China Sea.

Military experts said the disclosure was intended to show that the newly formed Southern Theatre Command, which covers the South China Sea, was well-prepared for any potential military confrontation with the US.