How China's Military Views the United States

China's economic problems continue. Their manufacturing contracted for the third straight month in December. China is now experiencing deflation, which is never a good thing. More government action is expected, but it is unknown if this will solve the problem.

China Dec factory contraction deepens, more stimulus on the cards

 

China is having trouble resolving the $10 trillion dollar debt owed by the regional and local governments.

China's $10 trillion hidden debt mountain could be the 'ticking time bomb' that Joe Biden warned of

 

Chairman Xi finally admits that China's economy is a disaster.

Xi Jinping rings in 2024 with rare admission that China’s economy is in trouble

Xi is running out of lipstick for the pig of China's economy.

You knows things are really bad when a communist dictator says things are bad . . .

 

China creates a full-scale wooden mockup of the USS Ford aircraft carrier and uses it for target practice in the desert. Finally, an aircraft carrier that the Chinese can find and destroy.

China Has New Full-Scale Target Of America's Ford Supercarrier

 

China seems like a very cooperative trading partner.

 

Both countries are in for a surprise when they find out that the aircraft carrier can move (55+ mph) and has defenses.

 

A blind missile from land is fairly harmless to an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. It is doubtful that a carrier will linger within sight of the enemy coast during a war. And carriers are generally unwilling to allow enemy aircraft to fly up to it during war, either. Add in the fact that most experts believe it would take about five missile (or torpedo) strikes on a carrier (in different locations on the ship, mind you) to sink it, and it is a very difficult proposition. Hence, the need to practice on wooden models in the desert. This has been explained to you before.

 

Finally, we find out the reason for China's purge of the military, especially the Rocket Force. Entire warehouses of missiles were filled with water instead of fuel. Missiles will usually go further if they contain fuel. Apparently, the water represented a cost savings, and the generals were pocketing the difference. The upcoming war with Taiwan would turn out completely differently if all of the Chinese missiles refused to go anywhere.

Missile silo lids for nuclear ICBMs were also specified incorrectly.

US intel shows China's army had missiles filled with water instead of fuel in a corruption scandal that led to Xi's military purge: Bloomberg

 

A Chinese American in the U.S. Navy was sentenced to two years for passing Navy secrets to China. He provided details of training exercises as well as blueprints for a radar installation in Okinawa. I'm stunned that the sentence wasn't closer to 10-20 years for this. This will do little to discourage others from doing the same. The only thing keeping this guy from doing it again is that (presumably) the Navy will not hire him again. Embarrassing.

US Navy sailor jailed for passing military blueprints, plans to China

 

Taiwan's pro-independence party wins the presidential election.

The ruling-party candidate strongly opposed by China wins Taiwan's presidential election

 

Now we know what happened to the missile fuel. Chinese soldiers used it to make hot pot (soup). Surprising that it is not dangerous to do this. It's too bad that China does not have another fuel source for cooking--maybe if they learned how to make solar panels . . .

Chinese Army defector claims air force cooked meals using missile fuel

 

An interesting article on the shift from making things in China to making them in India, from the perspective of toy-manufacturers. India has poor infrastructure, so roads and inland ports are either not very good or just not available. Toys seem like they would be an easy transition, but since toys are largely seasonal, they require extensive warehousing facilities. And toy manufacturers have to be extremely careful about product safety.

India saw western investment increase by $65B during 2021-22, while Chinese investment dropped below $20B, from a maximum of $120 billion in 2018. Mexico, Vietnam, and Malaysia picked up much of the difference.

India's workers apparently make about half what the Chinese workers make, so there is some savings in worker costs.

Toy manufacturers' shift from China is no child's play

 

China's military chiefs are watching the Kinzhal missiles get shot down in Ukraine, and are nervous that their own hypersonic missiles might not be adequate.

Russia's Kinzhals are frustrating Chinese analysts who want to find out how Beijing's hypersonic missiles might stack up against US battlefield defenses

True to Chinese military arrogance, they concluded that Russia is not using the Kinzhals correctly.

 

Missiles are somewhat useless against things that are hidden in a vast ocean, regardless of how many you send out. Any conflict between China and the U.S. would (certainly initially) be between things on the move that China cannot find or see (F-35's and U.S. carrier task forces and submarines) and things that are static (China's land-based missile systems and military bases) plus things that are more easily detected (China's semi-stealth aircraft and carrier task forces, which typically stay close to China, since they are afraid of fighting on the open sea). Besides, China's missiles are filled with water after the rocket fuel is used for hot pot. They're not that dangerous.

 

China tells Japan that they could make good trade partners, in spite of the fact that China doesn't get along with Japan or agree who owns disputed islands. Or the fact that Japan values their freedom and their territorial waters as much as China would like to take those things away from Japan. In other words, China is so desperate for income that they are willing to negotiate with the neighbor they despise.

China tells Japanese delegation two giants could complement each other in the modern economy, despite differences