Xi Jinping Says He Is Preparing China for War

Excerpt

Chinese leader Xi Jinping says he is preparing for war. At the annual meeting of China’s parliament and its top political advisory body in March, Xi wove the theme of war readiness through four separate speeches, in one instance telling his generals to “dare to fight.” His government also announced a 7.2 percent increase in China’s defense budget, which has doubled over the last decade, as well as plans to make the country less dependent on foreign grain imports. And in recent months, Beijing has unveiled new military readiness laws, new air-raid shelters in cities across the strait from Taiwan, and new “National Defense Mobilization” offices countrywide.

It is too early to say for certain what these developments mean. Conflict is not certain or imminent. But something has changed in Beijing that policymakers and business leaders worldwide cannot afford to ignore. If Xi says he is readying for war, it would be foolish not to take him at his word.

John Pomfret, former Beijing Bureau Chief for The Washington Post, is the author of The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present. Matt Pottinger is Chair of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. From 2019 to 2021, he served as Deputy National Security Adviser. FDD is a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.