Desk Report,
China is unstoppable – to whom did Xi Jinping give this message?
Donald Trump’s first reaction to seeing China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un marching side by side in a military parade in Beijing was, understandably, self-centered. He has accused the show of unity and strength of a “conspiracy” against the United States.
China is unstoppable – to whom did Xi Jinping give this message?
Trump loves military parades, but they have to be his own. When Trump takes the stage, he likes to be the center of attention. He likes to think of himself as the world’s number one leader. So the images from Beijing this week challenge him.
Xi Jinping must have been delighted to see Trump’s ego exposed. Since January, Trump’s behavior toward China has been at times aggressive, at times vindictive, at times dismissive. Trump’s punitive trade tariffs in particular have created unprecedented instability.
Trump has offered China a face-to-face meeting, as if he were offering a rare gift. The parade of the three rulers in Beijing was Trump’s clear answer. Even by Red Square standards, the Chinese president’s extravagant military display was a spectacle. The national anthem, the perfectly timed parade, tanks, artillery, and even the release of 80,000 pigeons—all were a demonstration of China’s rapid march toward military parity with Washington.
Of greatest concern to the US Navy, deployed in the Western Pacific, is that China now has supersonic, nuclear-capable, long-range missiles and underwater drones. Xi declared that China is “unstoppable.” Recalling the end of World War II, he said, “Mankind is once again faced with a choice between peace or war, dialogue or conflict, victory for both sides or zero results.”
This is a warning shot at Trump in vain. Whether he accepts it or not is a completely different matter.
Through this political, diplomatic and military showdown, Xi Jinping wants to show how China will play a leadership role in the future world. Xi Jinping has imagined and planned it in his own way. Xi has been working towards this goal since he rose to the top of the Communist Party in 2012. He has centralized more power than any leader since Mao Zedong.
Xi Jinping’s policies have been criticized at various times for economic mismanagement, unemployment, property crises and corruption. This has led to stricter restrictions on corporate institutions, the media and personal freedoms. As a surveillance state, China is undoubtedly at the top of the world. Xi’s foreign policy (especially around Taiwan and the South China Sea) is highly expansionist. First at the largest summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), then at a gathering of leaders in Beijing, Xi Jinping delivered a message that will resonate far beyond the White House. Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Iran, and many others showed respect for China’s power.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though angered by Trump’s tariff policies, also attended, reducing his long-standing conflict with China. The SCO joint declaration recognized a new global security and economic order that is challenging the post-1945 world order. This demonstration was the latest expression of Xi Jinping’s vision that China will become the world’s dominant power in the 21st century.
It is no wonder that Trump is angry. Trump has foolishly and provocatively irritated both his friends and his enemies. Many countries have sided with China in its fight against its neo-colonialist views. No one would seriously disagree with this. However, there are big questions about whether the alliance of these three rulers in Beijing will last long and find a path to constructive and peaceful cooperation.
