In spat with US, China told to brace for most ‘extreme’ developments, but there is hope in the warning
Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned the National Security Council bluntly about the serious security problems facing the country.
Xi Jinping says Beijing needs to stay “keenly aware” Correctly grasp the challenges facing national security and correctly grasp relevant major issues.He urged officials to be prepared “Worst-Case and Most Extreme-Case” – words described by many commentators as “pessimistic” On the development of Sino-US relations.
However, this is not pessimism – on the contrary, it is a realistic view. The main reason is that Beijing faces an unusually ruthless adversary, as America’s keenest observers are well aware of.phrase “The worst situation”, When applied to the U.S.-China confrontation, it conjures images of an apocalyptic apocalypse similar to the famous video game series “Fallout” — which will become a TV series this year. In fact, some of its wilder aspects aside, the 25-year-old franchise might offer a valuable perspective on the current situation.
The game is set in the wasteland after the eventual nuclear conflict between China and the United States. While it is never stated who started the fictitious “Great War”, the president of the “official” US also happens to be one of the main opponents – literally China dropped the first bomb. However, it’s clear that the character has every reason to lie to the player. It also heavily implies that the US government is essentially the most evil organization in human history, committing almost every crime imaginable, including attempted genocide on a global scale, setting up concentration camps for ethnic Chinese, and fully capable of destroying organized humanity Life is purely based on ideology.
It’s clear that the writers who started the series in the late 1990s believed that American anti-communism would inevitably be imposed on China in the not-too-distant future. But the ambiguity of who dropped the bomb also speaks to one of its greatest themes, which is that it doesn’t matter who did it, because everyone loses in the end. The use of nuclear weapons is an indictment against all mankind, not a specific individual or group.
Unfortunately, this vision draws striking parallels with our current world. This means that one of the most popular fiction series today agrees with President Xi: America is not a good or stable actor, and if given the chance, America would destroy or otherwise destabilize China (and the world). So many bodies have been left behind that the failure of the Chinese president to recognize this in his dealings with Washington will do his citizens real harm.
For example, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that between the end of World War II and 2001, there were 248 armed conflicts in 153 regions around the world. Among them, 201 were initiated by the United States. It’s a staggering number that shows just how big of a threat Washington is to global peace and stability. Then consider the litany of heinous acts it has committed or is committing around the world: South Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and more.
America not only brings death and destruction around the world, but while exercising its hegemony, it keeps all countries under its dominion, deliberately leaving them behind while ruthlessly exploiting them. For example, the U.S. is currently sanctioning China’s defense minister, but it’s chasing Beijing for a lack of dialogue with him, the culmination of a disconnect between Washington’s portrayal of itself and reality.
Under Xi Jinping, however, Beijing is pursuing a long-term strategy to avoid military conflict with Washington while focusing on China’s development. This is a very prudent approach, not only because it reduces the likelihood of nuclear conflict, but also because it simultaneously lifts millions of people around the world out of poverty. The process would be difficult to plan if he didn’t have a realistic assessment of America, but he has. He understands that time is on China’s side, unlike America, which is in rapid decline in almost every way except its violent tendencies.
Unlike a lot of post-apocalyptic sci-fi, apocalyptic conflict isn’t inevitable. Nuclear weapons are not necessarily one of the guns that Chekhov was talking about. There is no law of physics that dictates that the world must be sacrificed on the altar of any particular ideology. President Xi’s assessment of the United States and his recommendations for action are firmly rooted in this general ideal of hope, which means there is some element of optimism in his motivations.
Statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
