A war between China and the US would be catastrophic, deadly and destructive. Unfortunately, it is no longer unthinkable, writes mrkrudd in this book extract
Xi Jinping’s political modus operandi when confronted with a challenge — either foreign or domestic— is to double down; to crash through or crash.
For any political opposition to effectively mobilise against Xi’s reappointment in late 2022, there would need to be a series of catalytic and catastrophic events. These events could take a number of different forms. The most credible would be any self-inflicted economic crisis, decline or even financial collapse.
On potential military crises, Xi may be forward-leaning in dealing with US and Japanese naval and air incursions into what he describes as Chinese territory. But he is unlikely to allow any incidents to escalate to a point of no return —unless convinced that there is no risk that Chinese forces would not prevail or that the domestic political cost of blinking and backing down is simply too great.
But, most spectacularly, Xi has also become the author of the entire body of an eponymous Xi Jinping Thought that has been incorporated into both the party and state constitutions.
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