China, Russia Think About Starting World War III: Gordon Chang

Gordon Chang, China analyst and author of "The Coming Collapse of China," in New York City on Jan. 3, 2023.Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are contemplating starting World War III, driven by their shared vision for the future world order, according to renowned China expert Gordon Chang.

Mr. Chang, a senior fellow at the New York-based think tank Gatestone Institute, made an appearance on 77 WABC Radio on Dec. 25 to talk about his new article on China and Russia. In his article, he writes that the two regimes “are forming the core of a new axis,” and around this core “are proxies and proxies of proxies, such as Iran, North Korea, Algeria, and a host of terrorist groups.”

Xi and Mr. Putin “are cooperating across the world,” Mr. Chang said during the interview. “They’ve basically divided the international system into two. They want to take over the other half. They’re actually thinking of starting World War III because they talk about using nuclear weapons all the time.”

Concerns about the relationship between the Kremlin and the CCP have elevated since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and the two neighbors enhanced their ties to a “no limits” partnership. China’s nuclear capabilities came under scrutiny in October when the Pentagon revealed in a report that the communist regime has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads in its arsenal, with the number expected to increase to 1,000 by 2030. Meanwhile, Russia has a stockpile of about 4,489 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

“And what they’re doing is we see them cooperating in Ukraine, they’re cooperating in Gaza, and they’re cooperating in North Africa. They’re setting the world [on] fire. And we have a Biden administration that’s oblivious to what’s going on,” Mr. Chang said.

The China expert said China and Russia are watching the Biden administration’s response to Yemen’s Islamist Houthi rebel group, which has launched dozens of drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The Iran-backed Houthis have aligned themselves with Hamas in Gaza.

“We should be hitting the Houthi ports. And we should also be hitting the Iranian ones, as well. We do that, we show that we are willing to defend ourselves,” Mr. Chang said. “And I think that is going to make the Chinese and Russians sit up and take notice, because right now, they have been fueling Iran’s attack on Israel and Iran’s attack on shipping.”

He said that because of the Biden administration’s lack of action on his recommendations, the Chinese, Russians, and Iranians are likely thinking, “Well, let’s go out and do some more.”

The White House has said that Tehran was “deeply involved” in the Houthis’ attacks, a claim denied by Iran’s foreign ministry. Shipping companies have rerouted their cargo ships around Africa to avoid the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.

In his article, which was published on Dec. 25, Mr. Chang explains that Xi and Mr. Putin believe that the United States “is in a terminal decline,” pointing to their conversation in March when the CCP leader told his Russian counterpart that the two neighbors “are driving” changes not seen “in 100 years.”

The two leaders also believe that the United States “must be taken down,” hence the creation of their new axis, according to Mr. Chang’s article.

“Xi, by, among other things, declaring a ‘people’s war’ on America, has made it clear that the U.S. must be destroyed and Americans exterminated. Putin is less ambitious, only wanting the U.S. out of his way as he recreates the Russian Empire at its greatest extent,” the article reads.

Mr. Chang concludes his article by pondering what course of action Mr. Putin might take if Xi invaded neighboring countries. “That is not clear, but it is highly likely that the Russian leader will help China,” he writes.

The anticipated primary target of a CCP invasion is Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as a part of its territory. Xi views the takeover of Taiwan as a means of achieving “national rejuvenation,” even though the CCP has never ruled the island.

Mr. Chang writes, “Russia could also help China by trying to grab even more of the Kuril Islands chain from Japan or moving against a NATO member, such as one of the three Baltic republics, engulfing the Eurasian landmass in conflict, from one end to the other.”