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2 Chinese generals dissect Xi Jinping’s US policy, push for a relook
General Dai said that traditionally, China and the US had a very close trade relationship, but the Trump administration has now branded the country a trade terrorist and a global economic aggressor.
Dai Xu, a top general of the People’s Liberation Army has advocated that China should take stock of its relative weaknesses compared to the US and behave accordingly, according to a report in Nikkei Asian Review that cited a recent article authored by the officer who has been described as one of China’s most prominent hawks.
In his article, Dai underscored how no country had come forward to establish an alliance against the United States through the ongoing China vs US episode that has been playing out. “China has provided assistance to so many countries, benefiting them in so many ways, but at this critical moment, none of them has taken any unified action with China,” Dai wrote.
The top general, the analysis in Nikkei Asian Review said, appeared to suggest that China had gotten ahead of itself.. He warned that China should never “knock on (America’s) door and make a loud announcement that ‘I shall surpass you, replace you and be the world’s number one’.”
The Nikkei Asian Review analysis authored by a senior fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Richard McGregor, interpreted multiple voices from China to signal the view that Beijing’s interests would have been far better served by sticking with the low-profile policy counseled by Deng Xiaoping. The reference the doctrine of a revered political leader like Deng, was seen as an effort to criticise Xi Jinping without mentioning him by name.
In the article (Here is the link to the article published in a mainstream Chinese publication), General Dai said that traditionally, China and the US had a very close trade relationship, but the Trump administration has now branded the country a trade terrorist and a global economic aggressor.
He also listed 10 understanding about the Sino-US relationship. Among them is the United States’ ruthless push towards portraying China in a negative light which is beyond the expectations of most Chinese officials. He also said that China has not received support from any country.
General Dai then went on to say that the US has been united at the domestic front. He also said that China needs to understand that China is not a paper tiger, but a real tiger that kills people.
Suggesting the way forward, the military general said that China doesn’t need to make a loud announcement to be number 1. General Dai said that even if China knows it can beat the US, it needs to keep a low profile.
He also said that China should consider the US as world’s number 1.
Another retired army officer, Major General Qiao Liang had told South China Morning Post in May this year that Beijing “should not consider the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to take back Taiwan by force”.
The military strategist said Taiwan can be used by the US and its western allies to impose sanctions on China that would stop Beijing from importing resources needed for its industry.
“China’s ultimate goal is not the reunification of Taiwan, but to achieve the dream of national rejuvenation – so that all 1.4 billion Chinese can have a good life,” Qiao, a professor at the PLA National Defence University in Beijing, had said in an interview to SCMP.
