War requires deception, and nation states often project misleading signals in order to keep their adversaries off-balance. That said, the growing number of indicators suggesting that China is preparing for imminent conflict should not be ignored. China is working rapidly both to decrease its dependence on the rest of the world and to increase the rest of the world’s dependence on it. Simultaneously, China has expanded its influence in and around the United States in what appears to be a calculated campaign to disrupt any future American response to Chinese aggression across the Taiwan Strait.
Taken together, these actions should be understood as part of a sword-and-shield strategy designed to deter foreign nations from interfering with its intended conquest and capture of Taiwan.
1. Grain
Professor Edward Luttwak, a military historian and international relations strategist, says there is a dead giveaway that China is preparing for war: it is rapidly clearing forests to maximize arable land suitable for growing grains. He says the rate of clearing far exceeds the pace of the Amazon’s deforestation, even though Western environmentalists are saying nothing.
The likely reason for China’s quiet reclamation of woodland space is its current dependence upon a massive supply of imported soybeans, corn, and wheat from the United States, Canada, and elsewhere to feed its animal livestock. In order to reduce dependence on foreign adversaries during any potential conflict, local Communist Party officials have ordered peasants to use every available square yard of soil to plant cereals.
The word has even gone out to cull backyard ducks and pigs in order to minimize their consumption of grains while maximizing the available soil for crops. In an eerie reversal of Mao Zedong’s “Great Leap Forward” pivot toward rapid industrialization, Xi Jinping has issued an “all hands on deck” ultimatum to citizens demanding that they ensure China’s agrarian self-sufficiency.
2. Military Expansion
China is rapidly expanding the size and capabilities of its military. It already has the largest navy in the world and is expected to increase the total number of its naval vessels by roughly 40% over the next two decades. China is quickly growing its aircraft carrier and logistics forces and is projecting its “naval influence further from shore.”
The People’s Liberation Army has the world’s largest standing ground force with around one million active-duty personnel. China’s military spending has grown faster than its economy for over a decade and is considerably higher than every other country, aside from the United States. The U.S. Department of Defense predicts that China will quadruple its nuclear stockpile by 2030, and military observers believe China is making significant progress toward the development of hypersonic missiles — achievements that would help level the playing field in any confrontation with the United States.
According to the Pentagon’s China Military Power Report, “China is already ahead of the United States in certain areas” of military development. Playing out in the background of China’s steady advances, both the U.S. and China are engaged in an intense “arms race” to produce the world’s most advanced artificial intelligence system — the realization of which Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned will determine which nation controls global power for the next century.
3. “Green” Energy
While President Joe Biden insists that China will not invade Taiwan and his “climate czar” John Kerry praises China’s “commitments” to combatting “climate change,” some analysts warn that the Chinese Communist Party is using the West’s ideological obsession with “global warming” to discreetly prepare for war.
How so? Because China relies on foreign imports for nearly three-quarters of its oil usage, it is rapidly weaning itself from oil and natural gas. While it publicly talks about wind turbines and solar panels, though, its main alternative is coal-generated electricity. Chuck DeVore, a public policy analyst and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, notes that China “now generates more than 5.3 times the amount of coal power as does the U.S. And China isn’t stopping — it’s now building or has plans to build the equivalent of the entire American coal power-plant fleet, even as we decommission our plants.”
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While it is true that almost half of the world’s electric vehicles operate in China, it is also true that all those supposedly “green” EV’s are really coal-powered. Even more alarming, Chinese industry is rapidly shifting to technologies that convert coal into gasoline and lubricants, giving China an enormous advantage in withstanding any future oil blockades during a time of war. While Biden and Kerry praise China’s environmentalism, the Chinese Communist Party is increasing its energy independence and economic resilience through coal-to-liquids innovation.
4. Transport Exercises
Bradley Thayer, the Director of China Policy for the Center for Security Policy, argues that the People’s Liberation Army has already “completed two of three major military dress rehearsals required for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.” In August 2022, Chinese armed forces simulated a joint air-missile-maritime strike campaign against Taiwan; in April 2023, China rehearsed large-scale anti-air raid drills designed to establish air supremacy over the island. Thayer expects a final dress rehearsal that includes broad amphibious landing exercises to occur over the next few months. Once completed, the PLA will have demonstrated its capacity to take Taiwan by force.
5. Russia Partnership
Ties between Russia and China have become much closer in recent years. As China seeks workarounds to importing oil from Western nations and Russia seeks workarounds to U.S.-led sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine, the two nations have partnered to increase the flow of oil and natural gas piped from Russia into China.
Their economic partnership has geopolitical strategic value. Ming Jinwei, a senior editor for China’s state press agency Xinhua, posted on his WeChat blog just after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “Simply put, China has to back Russia up with emotional and moral support” because “China will also need Russia’s understanding and support when wrestling with America to solve the Taiwan issue once and for all.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a military alliance between China and Russia is “quite possible to imagine.”
Jonathan D.T. Ward, a consultant on U.S.-China relations, concludes that “China is preparing for war with the United States and Asia, and if and when that happens, they want Russia as their partner on that date.” From Ward’s point of view, Russia and China are now united in “a joint idea of taking down the U.S.-led order.”
6. Gold Stockpiling
Over the last decade — and particularly over the last year — the People’s Bank of China has been steadily stockpiling gold, while decreasing its foreign currency reserves. While central banks around the world have been buying up gold during this period of global inflation and instability, China’s surge in holdings still stands out. The financial news site Zero Hedge has put together a revealing graph that combines Russia and China’s gold reserves and holdings of U.S. Treasuries over the last two decades.
The representation of the underlying data is stunning. Right around the time when President Barack Obama began using the international financial system as a means to sanction Russia for its military occupation of Crimea, an unmistakable split occurred. Before those imposed sanctions, China and Russia maintained relatively steady supplies of gold and U.S. Treasuries; afterwards, China and Russia began stockpiling gold and offloading U.S. securities. It seems clear that both countries have used the last decade to limit the extent that U.S.-led financial institutions can be used to constrain their future actions.
7. BRICS and SCO
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization — the largest political, economic, and security organization in the world — links China not only to Russia but also to roughly 60% of Eurasia and nearly half of the global population. BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) — a collection of fast-growing economies that rivals the West’s G7 bloc — covers nearly 30% of global territory and half of the world’s population.
Together with Russia, China is linking both its economy and geopolitical security with the vast majority of nations comprising the Global South. One of the key concerns connecting nation states involved with both organizations is their interest in avoiding the West’s “rules-based international order.” Right now BRICS is working on a common payment system that would allow members to trade without having to rely on the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency.
China is constructing a BRICS-SCO trade bloc that will increase the pace of de-dollarization and reduce the pain of any future Western financial sanctions. Such economic integration will naturally encourage further military and intelligence cooperation, as well. Ultimately, China and Russia have set their sights on expanding BRICS+ membership across Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. China’s own Belt and Road Initiative now encircles Latin America and the Caribbean — ensuring the Chinese Community Party’s influence right up to America’s front door. This formidable alliance poses significant challenges to the West’s post-WWII global order.
8. Youth Unemployment and Public Jingoism
China’s youth unemployment rates continue to reach new record highs. The numbers are so bad, in fact, that the Chinese Communist Party has announced that it will simply stop releasing youth unemployment figures altogether. Some analysts see this deception as evidence that China’s economy is on the “verge of collapse.” If history is any guide, when a nation is faced with increasing numbers of young males with nothing to do, unstable political regimes tend to redirect their energies away from domestic concerns and toward saber-rattling military campaigns abroad.
As Jeffrey Landsberg at Commodore Research has soberly noted: “War creates a lot of employment for a country’s youth.” It seems no coincidence, then, that “concerns of a coming war in Taiwan are intensifying at the very same time that China’s youth unemployment is surging.” When President Xi Jinping opened the Chinese Communist Party congress last year, he asserted that “complete reunification” with Taiwan “must be realized” and that China would “never promise to renounce the use of force.” His battle cries were met with boisterous applause. Through a steady diet of State propaganda, the Chinese people believe that they must fight in order to “liberate Taiwan.”
9. Hybrid Warfare against the United States
While the United States and China are not technically at war, they are engaged in a perpetual state of quiet provocations and not-so-quiet hostilities. Ever since President William Jefferson Clinton and a bipartisan U.S. Congress approved Permanent Normal Trade Relations status for China in 2000 and paved the way for its entrance into the World Trade Organization a year later, China has been engaged in a relentless campaign to plunder U.S. intellectual property, trade secrets, and innovative tech.
Through either overt control over American companies operating in China or covert espionage of American companies at home, China has systematically infiltrated America’s corporate structure in ways that the Cold War Soviet Union could have only dreamed. Combined with its placement of spies in U.S. business and government positions, China simultaneously operates an exceedingly effective cyber-hacking force dedicated to penetrating private U.S. records systems both inside and outside of government. The end result is that China has amalgamated a treasure-trove of personal information on nearly every U.S. citizen.
At the same time, China is steadily infiltrating the American homeland through both quasi-legal and illegal methods. Using shell companies as fronts, the Chinese Communist Party is in the business of “legally” acquiring precious U.S. farmland, private property near U.S. military bases and other sites with strategic value, and businesses that can be utilized to hide malicious Chinese operations on American soil. In addition to its efforts to use America’s loose property rules for its own advantage, China is also using America’s relatively open border to sneak in both Chinese men of military age and a nearly endless supply of lethal fentanyl. Whereas the latter has had the direct effect of killing tens of thousands of Americans each year from drug overdoses, the former seemingly pose a dormant threat of sabotage to America’s vulnerable infrastructure, power grid, and other utilities that can be attacked at any time.
10. Expansion into the Western Hemisphere and Appeals to Overseas Expats
In recent years, China has greatly expanded its intelligence footprint and economic influence into the Caribbean, Central America, and throughout South America. Concurrently, it has pursued a carrot-or-stick strategy against expats living inside the United States and Canada whereby secret Chinese police forces induce the cooperation of Western residents of Chinese descent by either offering financial incentives or threatening violence.
Recently, two U.S. Navy sailors were arrested for having spied on China’s behalf. One was even encouraged to assist Chinese intelligence officers because his mother believed her son’s espionage would help him secure a good job with the Chinese government in the future. These “sugar-coated bullets,” as Mao described them, have become one of China’s most effective methods for inviting subversion. Using a mixture of patriotic nostalgia for the Chinese homeland, information warfare, and outright intimidation, the Chinese Communist Party is aggressively courting and coercing Westerners to act as Chinese spies.
It is not difficult to see where all this is heading. If and when China decides to take Taiwan by force, it intends to use agents both inside the United States and within the U.S.’s larger sphere of influence to cause as much mayhem and distraction as possible. Should Xi Jinping execute a strike across the Taiwan Strait, Americans should expect concomitant civil disruptions.
Image by Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
Clearing woodlands to grow grain? Right, the Germans did it (twice) …NO MORE TREES IN DEUTSCHLAND !!
Little hint here for you sales people: Communists never gave a damn about their own people. If 100’s of millions die – so be it.
Little tip here for free:
YOU NEED TO READ UP ON THE HISTORY OF COMMUNISM BEFORE POSTING YOUR BS.
Not True! I counted SEVEN or more trees on my last visit to Munich!
China has been at war with us for 30 years.
No one wants to accept that.
The END GAME of that effort is at hand.
You are right. And the fact that Biden received millions for selling out to the Chinese to the detriment of U.S. security spells out treason.
The grifting of these sites are becoming annoying…
10 reason the
DRAGON is prepping for war
Let me give you a history lesson
VICHY FRANCE
Surrender Monkeys
Both are where the democracy of these states is at right now
A human being call FJB
Would surrender to
THE DRAGON as soon as the
LIGHTS GO OUT and very few would known it
All the rest of your top ten reason all follow
The GUNS IN THE SKY
Turned on
ONE PEOPLE if they don’t accept
FJB SIGNED INTO LAW
ENDORSED BY BOTH
POO-LITACAL BANDS
ONE sign China is preparing for war… Xi.
“While President Joe Biden insists that China will not invade Taiwan…”
Biden also emphatically stated that Russia would not invade Ukraine.
So much stupid in one article.
Most of what you say is actually what Western Leaders stereotype anyone that does not kowtow to them.
Each of your points is a projection of Western Foreign Policy of piracy, regime change with zero dialog.
If anyone wants to learn about the stuff goingg on in China go to you tube Channels : China Observer and China Truths, they just need a finger shove and its all gone. People are 50% unemployed , Realestate collpsed, Each province billions in debt thew recent and continuing hurtricane and daily storms have ruined vast swaths of crops towns homes gone. The poor are now homeless the govt is doing nothing . GDP is toast.
WE are screwed unless Trump wins.
Excellent article!!!
Other signs: biowarfare lab stumbled upon by accident in Reedley, California! War will be multi–pronged!
Those two sailors arrested involved banal data, but focused on war prep!
The Chicom surveillance balloon’s air route was the exact flight plan over North America for precision terrain mapping, RADAR center identification plus the sighting of the Naval Global Operations Center as it entered over the Atlantic! A preemptive strike against CONUS may be part of the invasion of Taiwan —— destruction of command–and–control facilities!
Xi’s recent political shakeup to replace the “pro–business doves” with the “war hawks”!
NUKE CHINA NOW!