The People's Republic of China Celebrates 70th Birthday

A Birthday Into a New Era

This Tuesday, the People's Republic of China turns 70.

In the lead-up to its birthday celebration, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) published a white paper in which it declared that Beijing does not intend to challenge America’s role as a global leader.

But critics argue otherwise, pointing to examples such as aggressive Chinese maritime behavior in the South China Sea or the immense sums of debt accrued by some member states of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). They see these and other Chinese actions as proof that the CCP harbors global ambitions that seek to undermine the US and its role in the world.

This summer, the Marine Corps’ newest commandant, General David Berger, declared in his planning guidance the need to develop new doctrine and strategy for contesting China. He expanded on this initiative in August when he told Marines on Camp Foster that the focus now isn’t specifically fighting a war but to deter China and its behavior in the region.

Gen. Berger is far from the first military official to raise alarm about China. Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis first put the spotlight on China in 2018 in his National Defense Strategy. In it, he warned that America’s days as an unmatched superpower are over and that the US needs to shift its national security focus to confronting China and its anti-democratic behavior. Mattis cited China’s military and technological advances as posing serious threats to the US and its ability to operate in the Indo-Pacific region.

As the PRC prepares to celebrate its birthday on October 1, it faces an exacting trade war with the US and growing international criticism on everything from BRI to its theft of intellectual property and military technology. Nonetheless, Beijing seems unfazed as it promises to continue down its path toward greatness.

China is using private corporations to harvest technology for its military

China’s government is utilizing private companies to steal and collect foreign technology that it can use to further develop its military. The move is the latest in a long history of intellectual property and technology theft committed by China.

SecDef warns that China is stealing military technology and intellectual property

And Secretary of Defense Mark Esper also warned attendees at a cyber security summit last week about China’s military technology and intellectual property theft.

China’s growing defense budget

China is putting increasingly more amounts of money into its defense budget as it continues to improve its military. After taking into account certain monetary factors, it becomes apparent that China is investing nearly as much money as the US in its armed forces.

US rallies behind Taiwan

A senior US official visited Taiwan over the weekend to show diplomatic support for the US-partner after two of the island’s allies cut ties last week.