It’s easy to worry over China’s increasing bellicosity and economic strength, but its demographic woes, regional challengers, and declining productivity provide new opportunities for the West and its allies.
The recent announcement that China had tested something akin to a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, which is launched into space and then orbits the globe before discharging a missile at its target, underscored yet again that America and its allies have serious grounds to be worried about China.
Whether it is Beijing’s extinguishment of Hong Kong’s special status, bellicose tone regarding Taiwan, ongoing theft of intellectual property from Western companies or inflicting jail sentences on dissidents like Jimmy Lai and Martin Lee, these are signs of a regime determined to throw its weight around.
These and other developments over the past 10 years have forced the United States to rethink relations with its Pacific partners. Part of that repositioning naturally involves considering how to counter China’s strengths. But part of the realignment should also involve reflection upon China’s present liabilities.
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