In the 1980’s Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said famously, “Hide our strength, bide our time.” Today, Xi Jinping is asserting China’s strength, not hiding it. And he believes that China’s time has come.
Mr. Xi’s strategy rests on five pillars. First, he has moved aggressively to take back authority over every industry in his country. Second, Mr. Xi has established technological superiority as a core national goal.
Third, Mr. Xi has upgraded his defense forces and extended their reach. The Chinese army is far better equipped. The navy is the largest in the world. And China is establishing a global system of ports to give its forces access all over the world.
Fourth, Mr. Xi is using China’s economic clout to extend its diplomatic reach.
Finally, and most ominously, Mr. Xi has deployed the full force of Chinese nationalism to support the reassertion of his country’s power and to complete its reunification. A successful effort to end Taiwan’s independence by force, once considered improbable, can no longer be ruled out.
