More Signs Beijing is Preparing For War: Gordon Chang

Australia urged to diversify its trade now

Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army are seen before a giant screen as Chinese leader Xi Jinping speaks at the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of the regime in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019. Jason Lee/Reuters

The signs China is preparing for war appear to be increasing, according to China expert, American columnist and author Gordon Chang, who said that the current Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping was ramping up the wartime rhetoric as a way to refocus China away from the recent domestic failings of the CCP.

Mr. Chang, known for his book The Coming Collapse of China, gave this argument when speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Australia in Sydney on Aug. 19.

“In March of this year, at the National People’s Congress meeting, he [Xi] repeated his now favourite phrase, ‘Dare to fight,’ he quoted. “Last month, Xi Jinping, dressed up in military green, went to the eastern theatre command, which is the command that will lead the invasion of Taiwan, and gave another one of these ‘let’s go out and invade somebody’ speeches.”

Mr. Chang also noted that there has been a crackdown in February on those who are opposed to war with Liu Yazhou, a former Air Force General, “ actually given a death sentence because he was opposed to fighting Taiwan.”

“Just a couple of weeks ago, we heard from Xi Jinping and others that there’s now a purge in the rocket force. The top two commanders have gotten rid of all their deputies. This is unprecedented,” Mr. Chang said.

The China expert believes that Xi Jinping may start a war since the CCP leader has no answers for various domestic problems.

“He has the incentives to go to war because China is in crisis. They’re continuing debt defaults by big property companies, plunging property prices, a tumbling economy, worsening food shortages, and deteriorating environment, and failing local governments,” he said.

“Xi Jinping knows he’s being blamed for all these problems. He knows he has no solution to them, so he could very well go out and start a war to divert the Chinese people from his policy mistakes,” Mr. Chang told The Epoch Times after the speech.

Mr. Chang cited the Chinese real estate industry as one failure that is having repercussions for the CCP.

A logo of China's developer Country Garden Holdings on top of a building in Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, on Oct. 31, 2021. STR/AFP via Getty Images

“Everyone knew that Evergrande was going to eventually have to do that because it could never pay back its debts, but what is really frightening is Country Garden, which last year was China’s biggest property developer by sales.”

“Clearly, Country Garden is in trouble, as are a lot of other big Chinese property developers, including state property developers, so this is a real moment of great, great gravity for the Chinese regime… We’ve got to be really concerned that a weak China is an especially dangerous China.”

When asked if the CCP can afford a war, Chang gave an affirmative answer.

“I think that they can afford a war,” he said. “I don’t think that they’re ready to go to war, but that doesn’t mean they won’t start a war because they might think that if they don’t start a war now, they’ll never be able to accomplish what they set out to do, so they very well may decide their best chance is now, and that means they can take us by surprise.”

China’s Economic Collapse Won’t Affect Global Growth

While many worry that if China’s economy collapses, it will affect global growth, Chang argued that it is not necessarily the case.

“No, it’s not going to affect global growth, at least not in the way they think,” he said. “China is not an engine of global growth. There’s a lot of growth in China, or at least there has been, but the point is, through predatory and criminal actions, China has taken growth from other countries.

Gordon Chang, an American columnist and author, spoke at CPAC Australia on Aug. 19, 2023. Wade Zhong/The Epoch Times

“To be an engine of global growth, you’ve got to buy the goods and services of other countries. In other words, you’ve got to be a deficit country, like the United States.

“So you know, if China just sort of disappeared one day, it would actually be good for a lot of other countries.”

Australia Called to Defend by Diversifying Now

Mr. Chang also urged countries like Australia to stand up to the communist regime.

“Xi Jinping is thinking of incinerating cities in Taiwan, Japan, the United States, but also a country called Australia,” he told the Sydney audience, referring to Beijing’s strong reaction to AUKUS, the historic security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

“If we allow Xi Jinping to take over Taiwan, we know what’s going to happen next. Next, he’s going to come after Australia; he’s going to come over to the United States; he’s going to go after everyone.”

He encouraged Australia to cut trade, investment, and technology cooperation with Beijing.

“I know that sounds extreme, but we shouldn’t be enriching a hostile state… We can call it de-risking, we can call it decoupling, but we’ve got to defend ourselves.”

“When China invades Taiwan or some other country, Australia is not going to be selling anything to the Chinese, so the time to diversify is now.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L), US President Joe Biden (C) and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (R) hold a press conference after a trilateral meeting during the AUKUS summit in San Diego, California, on March 13, 2023. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Another reason, he said, was that the Chinese economy is falling apart fast.

“They’re just not going to be buying that much from you in any event,” said Mr. Chang.

“When you look for a job, the best thing is you already have a job. Well, it means when you’re looking for a customer, it’s best to already have customers, and now is the time for Australia to take action to defend itself by looking for customers.”

CCP’s Fall ‘Inevitable’

Mr. Chang, who has made several predictions of the timing of the CCP’s collapse, said since the CCP has the ability to wall China off from the world with strong capital controls, it can survive for a lot longer than people think.

“Certainly a lot longer than I thought,” he said.

His comments follow those by Elmer Yuen, a Hong Kong entrepreneur and democracy activist, who recently predicted that the CCP collapse in 2-3 years.

“We must look at China in this big picture. The big picture is the whole country is bankrupt. If China is one company, it’s bankrupt,” Mr. Yuen told The Epoch Times.

While Mr. Chang believes that it is an “entirely reasonable assessment.”

“We know what’s happening, and it’s virtually inevitable … We know that eventually, the result is the Communist Party will fail. We just don’t know the timeframe.”

Soldiers stand on deck of the ambitious transport dock Yimen Shan of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy as it participates in a naval parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of China's PLA Navy in the sea near Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province, on April 23, 2019. Mark Schiefelbein/AFP via Getty Images

As a closure to his CPAC speech, Chang said it’s a blessing for Americans to have Australia as an ally.

“That’s the grouping of Australia, Japan, India, and the United States [Quadrilateral Security Dialogue]. That grouping is telling us the world is dividing into camps,” he said.

“This is, therefore, a fight between freedom and oppression. This is a fight between democracy and tyranny. This ladies and gentlemen, is a fight between good and evil.

“Freedom, at this critical moment, needs defenders. It needs warriors, and that means it needs warriors like you.”