Pentagon Reports: Chinese Engaged in Global Power Play

(Photo Credit: Petty Officer 1st Class Chad McNeeley/U.S. Navy)

 

Defense Department warns One Belt One Road favors military and civilian projects that are a direct challenge to U.S. strategic interests.

A pair of reports this week from the Pentagon have sounded alarm bells for Washington, D.C., over China’s use of its ever-growing military, trade, and infrastructure networks, which they assert are being used to pursue a goal of global domination and direct confrontation with American interests around the world.

How arrest of Chinese ‘princess’ exposes regime’s world domination plot

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Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou’s arrest in Vancouver on Dec. 6 led to immediate blowback.

Furious Chinese Communists have begun arresting innocent Canadians in retaliation. So far, three of these “revenge hostages” have been taken and are being held in secret jails on vague charges. Beijing hints that the hostage count may grow if Meng is not freed and fast.

Even for a thuggish regime like China’s, this kind of action is almost unprecedented.

So who is Meng Wanzhou?

Leaked Chinese Memo Warns Of “Thucydides Trap” With US, “War Is Unavoidable”

 

A series of leaked internal documents reveal that China’s military reforms are aimed at allowing Beijing to “manage a crisis, contain a conflict, win a war” and overtake the United States in military strength, according to the Express.

The leaked documents were published by the Central Military Commission in February for the purpose of spreading President Xi Jinping’s “thought on strengthening the armed forces”.

If the reforms go ahead, they will lead to heightened tensions with China’s neighbouring countries, including Japan, in the East and South China Seas and the US. –Express

China Industrial Policy Seeks to Steal ‘Crown Jewels’ of U.S. Tech

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White House exposes Chinese economic aggression

China’s government is using a multi-pronged strategy to systematically steal advanced American technology as part of economic aggression against the United States, according to a White House report.

The report, based in part on declassified intelligence from the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, provides some of the first public details on China’s industrial policies that have produced the world’s second largest economy, often at the expense of American companies.

China Warns Trump “We Will Outlast You” As US “Significantly Escalates” Trade War

Beijing sent the first messaging salvo ahead of the Steven Mnuchin-led delegation to China (which will engage in trade talks over May 3-4) overnight when the PBOC fixed the yuan sharply lower than many expected. The signal was clear: push us hard enough, and we may just launch another devaluation. Or worse.

A little while later, Beijing did its best attempt at managing expectations, when it said that it’s “unrealistic” to expect to solve all issues between the U.S. and China at a single meeting, given the economic sizes of the two countries and their complex economic and trade relationship, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says at daily briefing.

While Hua tried his best to pay the diplomatic “good cop”, saying it was in the mutual interest of both countries to solve trade issues through consultation, just a few hours later, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi was the bad cop, who warned that whereas China would welcome a successful outcome from upcoming trade talks with the United States, it  is “fully prepared for all outcomes and will not negotiate on core interests.”

US cannot stop China’s innovation advancements

It would appear that the US is seriously worried about China’s technological advancements. Fearing the loss of the last comparative advantage over the Asian superpower has caused a genuine concern over national defense and competitiveness among America’s ruling elite.

The US using every possible means to curb Asia’s technological rise, including the banning of sales of essential chips to ZTE for seven years, invoking Section 301 of the Trade Act to investigate China’s “unfair trade practices” and barring investment in the information-technology sector. The Donald Trump administration’s target might be the Asian power’s “Made in China 2025”, a strategy meant to make China self-sufficient in an array of technologies.

The 301 investigation was meant to slow down China’s technological advancements by imposing stiff tariffs on a host of Chinese imports and barring the sales of US technology to Chinese firms. In addition, the anti-China faction of the US Congress and the Trump administration have barred Chinese investment in technology sectors.

China’s stealth fighter unveiled in flyby debut

China unveils its J-20 stealth fighter at an air show in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, on November 1, 2016. Photo: China Daily via Reuters

 

With no fanfare, just an abrupt announcement by the master of ceremonies, two dark, powerful J-20 jets rumble over spectators at the Zhuhai airshow

Two of China’s J-20 stealth warplanes swept over a gasping crowd at the Zhuhai air show on Tuesday, potent symbols of Beijing’s aspirations to military might.

The fighters were not announced on the schedule and appeared in the sky just after a colorful aerobatics show by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

China’s Master Plan to Become a ‘World Manufacturing Power’

It may sound odd that China, often called the “world’s factory” is focusing such high-level attention on strengthening its manufacturing capabilities. But China’s leaders effectively want to move up the supply chain – they want China to become known as a leader in manufacturing innovative technologies. In Li’s words, Beijing wants to go from “Made in China” to “Created in China.”

It will come as no surprise, then, that the plan includes a heavy focus on innovation and technology, two themes that have been heavily promoted by current leadership.  Li emphasized the important of fostering innovation in his recent visit to China’s “Silicon Valley.” For Beijing, cutting bureaucratic red tape is one key to unlocking China’s creativity – Li has made this into a personal quest, repeatedly promising to eliminate unnecessary government approvals and streamline the remaining processes.

Beijing set to unveil ‘Made in China 2025’ 10-year plan

Beijing will soon unveil details of its “Made in China 2025” initiative, the first of three 10-year plans aimed at turning the nation into an advanced manufacturing powerhouse, the Beijing-based Economic Observer reports.

The State Council approved the “Made in China 2025” plan on March 25 and an expert close to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the aim is to address the country’s lack of high-end technology in the manufacturing sector. According to the expert, the plan will be implemented through a series of projects and the establishment of innovation centers backed by universities and businesses.