Biden’s Failures Undermine US Deterrence of China: Gordon Chang

China affairs columnist Gordon Chang. The Epoch Times

The American deterrence of the Chinese regime has been breaking down following President Joe Biden’s humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan and calamitous failure to stop Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine, according to Gordon Chang, China analyst and author.

These two failures confirm in Chinese minds that the Biden administration is incompetent, according to Chang.

“Beijing’s perception makes this one of the most dangerous moments in history,” Chang said in an email to The Epoch Times.

Meanwhile, in Chang’s opinion, Biden still insists on “engagement” with China, which shows his “fundamental failure to understand Xi Jinping and Chinese communism.”

“He [Biden] like other engagers, assumes that a strong Communist Party is in the interest of the United States. By now, it is apparent that Xi Jinping’s China is dangerous and engagement has failed, but Biden apparently has not noticed,” Chang said.

At the same time, Xi is actively preparing militarily for a move against the island of Taiwan, which the regime deems part of its territory, Chang said.

Escalating Aggression

“Beijing is in the midst of the fastest military buildup since the Second World War and …the Communist Party is mobilizing civilian society for battle,” he said.

Chang pointed to China’s drone incursion into Taiwan’s airspace over the Shi Islet on Sept. 1, ignoring several flares and warning shots, saying that it is particularly ominous and signals Xi’s preparation to make an aggressive move.

“Xi may not intend to start a war, but he is doing things that can lead to conflict,” he said.

Reinforcing Power

Domestically, Chang said, Xi has been in full swing to tighten social control and prolong his power.

“Xi Jinping has reversed decades of the loosening of social controls, and his China is fast moving back toward totalitarianism,” the expert said.

“He [Xi] believes the Communist Party must have absolute control of society and that he must have absolute control of the Party.”

Chang believes Xi will further push the regime towards totalitarianism as long as he is the head of the Chinese Communist Party.

Given the fact that China has fallen into a devastating state with a failing economy, businesses in prolonged debt, and worsening food shortages, among other issues, Chang expects that a change in who will rule the Party will occur.

“Throughout Chinese history the most unlikely of leaders at the most unlikely of times have risen up and taken control of the country. It could happen any time now, especially because China is falling apart,” he said.

“You would expect that someone among 1.41 billion people thinks he or she can do better,” Chang said.

The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for comment but had not received a reply before publication.

Eva Fu contributed to this report.