This month, the Chinese Communist Party celebrated its 100th anniversary. The Party was founded in 1921 but came to power in 1949, after defeating Nationalist forces, which fled to Taiwan. In his commemoration speech, China’s President, Xi Jinping, touted how the Party had created “a new world” for the Chinese people. Of course, the audience applauded and cheered.
President Xi spoke in front of a carefully vetted crowd of 70,000 at an orchestrated event. He lauded how the Communist Party elevated China’s status in the world. He promoted the Party’s future by telling young people to realize the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as their own responsibility.” He added that “only socialism with Chinese characteristics can develop China.” He also called for elevating the military to “world-class standards.”
Today, China has the world’s second largest economy, surpassing Japan in 2010. Most economists expect China to surpass the US in the early 2030s (“historic inevitability” is how Xi described it. With four times the US population, it is not hard to imagine a Chinese economy four times that of the US, or perhaps only twice as large. Either scenario would create a different world. China still plans to regain control of Taiwan (Xi called it a “historic mission”). China already clamped down on Hong Kong’s freedoms. China is practicing near-genocide against its Uyghur minority. How could the US (or any part of the world) compete against such a huge economy? One radical idea is for the US to forge closer ties with its North American neighbors, becoming so intertwined as to function as a single entity. This could be done while preserving each nation’s history, culture, and traditions. Such a move would give North America the girth needed to counterweight a future China.
China remains resolved. Xi stated that any country who tries to interfere with China’s path forward will “find their heads bashed bloody against a great wall of steel.” The US would be wise to consider the long-term implications of this now; otherwise, we’ll have a different world by the end of the century.
Sources:
Ben Westcott and Steven Jiang, “Foreign countries that ‘bully’ China will meet a ‘great wall of steel,’ says Xi during Communist Party centenary,” CNN, 1 July 2021, accessed from https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/china/ccp-100-beijing-china-xi-celebration-intl-hnk/index.html
Robin Brant, “CCP 100: Xi warns China will not be ‘oppressed’ in anniversary speech,” BBC, 1 July 2021, accessed from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57648236
Photo: Ng Han Guan (dpa picture alliance)