Xi Jinping was recently installed for a third term as China�s leader
and the head of the Chinese Communist Party. Since then, he�s been
offering a number of speeches and state media interviews. During one
such discussion this week, he proclaimed on CCTV that his country is
going to be �focusing on preparing for war.� This will take the form of
increased military training drills along with hastened developments in
technology and defense assets. The only reason he cited for this
position was an �increasingly unstable and uncertain� national security
position. But most analysts are already assuming that China may be
ramping up for an invasion of Taiwan. (Daily Mail)

China will focus on preparing for war with the country�s
security �increasingly unstable and uncertain�, President
Xi Jinping has declared.

Beijing will now comprehensively strengthen its military
training and preparation for any war, Xi said today, according
to state broadcaster CCTV.

His warning comes after Xi last month called for faster
military development, �self-reliance and strength� in
technology and defence of China�s interests abroad, raising
the likelihood of further conflict.

Xi�s announcement that China will focus on preparing for a
war will raise fears that the nation may invade the self-
governing island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.

This is obviously a disturbing development on a number of levels. China
has already been beefing up it�s military for more than a decade,
particularly with the addition of aircraft carriers to its naval fleet
and new planes specifically designed for use on carriers. They�ve been
testing hypersonic missile technology and increasing their recruiting
efforts for military service. But Xi Jinping has traditionally avoided
specific references to initiating any sort of military conflict.

As one Asian policy expert quoted in the linked report points out, this
isn�t the sort of thing that the west can afford to simply ignore or
blow off as bombastic rhetoric. We probably need to take the Chinese
leader at his word. Whether these remarks were intended to be a thinly
veiled reference to an invasion across the Taiwan Strait or a conflict
with other western allies, having China on a war footing is something
we will regret taking lightly if we simply ignore this.

But what�s to be done? The same analyst I mentioned above suggests that
it�s vital for western nations to begin the process of �decoupling
China from many of our most relied upon supply chain networks.� He also
suggests removing China�s vested interests and influence in critical
industries, particularly those in the energy and transportation
sectors. Hopefully, this sounds obvious to most western leaders and
it�s something we should have started doing long before this. We
learned during the pandemic shutdowns how much damage China can do by
disrupting the global supply chain, even if it�s done inadvertently. If
they find themselves at war with the United States or anyone else, they
could just as readily shut down those supply chains intentionally.

While we�ve brought this up here before, it�s worth noting that the
Chinese seem to clearly have been watching as recent events unfolded in
Ukraine. Xi Jinping may have already concluded that he is free to
�reunify� Taiwan with the mainland militarily because the United States
will not step in with our own military to stop them. And if America
doesn�t lead the way, our smaller allies will not launch an attack on
China on their own.

In any event, we need some clarification from the White House as to
what our actual policy regarding China and Taiwan is today. Joe Biden
has repeatedly muddied the waters in that regard with contradictory
statements that his staff had to quickly rush out and �clarify.� China
has clearly been listening and there is a very real chance that they
may act on those impulses.

Just as a reminder to all of you who follow our work here, I wanted to
ask a favor. We�re moving forward into the all-important 2024
presidential cycle now that the midterms are (mostly) out of the way.
Everyone who holds conservative values near and dear will need to work
together and get on the same page if we have any hope of taking back
the White House and putting an end to Joe Biden�s madness If you value
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Let's go Brandon!