At the recently concluded March 2021 meeting of the National People’s Congress Chinese President Xi Jinping used the opportunity to emphasize that China is on an “irreversible course” when it comes to its policy toward the United States and the rest of the world. This July will mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It appears Xi is not preparing to pass the torch this summer but to remain in power, further consolidate his domestic political gains, and intensity the country’s strategic competition with the West.
President Xi unveiled a number of initiatives at the March NPC meeting which Craig Singleton, a former US diplomat and national security expert, says are a sign that Xi is unlikely to sit back while “foreign long-arm interference,” as Xi labels US foreign policy, tries to hold China accountable for human rights violations of the country’s Muslim minority population, the sweeping anti-Democratic changes Beijing has forced on the people of Hong Kong and trade violations.
“On the policy front, Xi formally unveiled a number of significant pronouncements, several of which he previously foreshadowed in a series of carefully crafted speeches and white papers,” according to Singleton. In Hong Kong, China he announced that Beijing is imposing changes to the electoral system. These include the creation of vetting committees to review candidates for elected office to determine if they are sufficiently patriotic toward China. The move will effectively silence any vocal opposition, or candidates, involved in the political process, in defiance of US democratization efforts encouraging Beijing to allow Hong Kong to continue holding free and fair elections. “Washington may need to modernize its suite of policy tools, including sanctions, to account for a China that is increasingly willing and able to absorb the costs associated with flouting traditional levers of American power,” says Singleton.
On the military front Xi announced that China’s 2021 defense budget would increase by 7 percent to $229 billion (USD). That number excludes much of China defense-related spending for areas inclusive of their space program, Coast Guard, and internal security apparatus. Over the last decade China has prioritized modernization of its defense posture, as well as making significant offensive weapons purchases to counterbalance US dominance in the Asia-Pacific region.
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DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Friday, she presents key updates on China.
Photo: fighter jet attached to a base under the PLA Naval Aviation University soars in the sky during a round-the-clock flight training exercise in late February, 2021. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Shuaishuai)