When you hear someone deep diving into a conspiracy theory, do you roll your eyes and then politely thank the person for sharing their paranoid thoughts with you? I do. The theory usually involves some form of complicated conjecture which is one speculation after another. Anyone who reads my columns or talks to me knows I do not do speculation. Despite all that, I have conjured up what some would consider a conspiracy theory. Here goes.
As you know, the megalomanic power clutching Xi Jinping rules Communist China. He believes that his country will rule the 21st Century, and he is attempting to extend the reach of the country throughout the world.
About three and one-half years ago, China unleashed an international pandemic called Covid-19. They created a fish story about it coming from a farmers’ market, but there is no doubt it came from a nearby lab. Whether they intentionally spread it through the world can be debated. But once knowing of its existence, the Chinese control freaks did nothing to stop people from Wuhan from flying all over the world which certainly helped spread the deadly disease.
This caused countries across the world to make significant decisions regarding how to protect their citizens. Though the Chinese could not have predicted the massive shutdowns that occurred throughout the formerly free world, they certainly benefited from it. They saw countries like the United States pour trillions of dollars of synthetic money into their economies weakened by these shutdowns. This severely challenged their overall financial status and caused inflation levels not seen for forty years. In their minds this raised China’s relative financial strength while putting the Western world in the position of increased financial weakness.
This financial upheaval caused political disruption in many of the countries in the West. President Trump, despite that many people disfavored him, was in a strong position to be reelected. Inflation was low, jobs were plentiful, unemployment low, gas prices low, and employee wages were rising at rates above inflation. The pandemic set the political environment in America afire causing a change in national leadership to a group the Chinese found much more favorable.
The Chinese continued to build up all aspects of their military during this time. They used the additional muscle to threaten the countries in their vicinity with military movements and maneuvers outside China’s borders. The Chinese more strongly asserted their rights to control the South China Sea against the wishes of the countries in the area. During this period, they took over total control of Hong Kong prior to the agreed time.
The Chinese have also expanded their efforts to stir trouble around the world with their false diplomacy. They have gone into countries offering to build their seaports, airports, and other infrastructure. Take a look at how they have taken over much of the economy of Ecuador basically colonizing the country. The Chinese accomplish two things. First, they put themselves in a superior position to exploit the natural resources of the country.
Second, they create a lender-borrower relationship, and not the kind you have with your local bank. More like the kind you might have with the local mob boss who will extract additional concessions when you cannot pay. The Chinese have used this period of disruption caused by the pandemic to accelerate their efforts in this area. They are getting their fingers around the neck of South American countries in a manner unlike any other country since the establishment of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine.
Russia, the tacit ally of China, had held off any movements to reestablish their former empire during the Trump Administration. Some say the respite from 2014 was just coincidental, but the Russian attack in Ukraine came almost exactly eight years after Crimea when a new American Administration was in place. Neither the Russians nor the Chinese would have necessarily known that the Biden Administration would so stridently support Ukraine.
There are many politicos who believe that the U.S. abandoning support for Ukraine at this time would send a signal of weakness to China. The thinking is if we were to show weakness in Ukraine it would give China a signal that they could make their move to take over Taiwan.
Then there is the case that this is what the Chinese have wanted all along. First, the Chinese have suffered no ill effects of the war in Europe. Since there has been an embargo on Russian oil by many countries, China has been soaking it up at a discounted rate. The Chinese are now selling Russia many products that the Europeans formerly sold them.
More importantly, this has weakened the United States militarily. Though our troops are not actively involved in combat, we are the principal supplier of war materials. That has drained our stockpiles. This has become common knowledge. The Biden Administration has not properly replenished the supplies, just like they have not replenished the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This is just an added benefit to the Chinese they did not necessarily count on happening.
China’s main goal was to stir the pot in Europe so they could replay history from a little over 80 years ago. Those who truly understand history know there were multiple reasons that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had a major fear of America’s economic, and military might. They did not want to drag America into a war. They saw that after the war started in Europe, America’s focus was on that war and not that the Japanese expanding their domain throughout the Pacific. America had committed to the Lend-Lease program in early 1941 solidifying the focus on Europe. That is why in late 1941 — while America was distracted –the Japanese sprung their attack on Pearl Harbor.
China has wanted to reclaim what they consider “Formosa” since World War II. They have convinced America to not formally recognize Taiwan. That is even though Taiwan is so much more strategically important to us than Ukraine because it supplies 85% of our computer chips. With our depleted stockpiles and our focus on Europe, just like 80 years ago, they see they can finally accomplish their goal of terminating Taiwan as a free, capitalist country.
It certainly is not clear that every chip would have fallen in place as it has for the Chinese. In periods of great tumult, like the pandemic, there is opportunity. The Chinese knew this and decided to take their shot at accomplishing their primary goal of uniting Taiwan with mainland China. The West certainly made their job easier by emasculating their own economies and then going all out to protect Ukraine. Some people have warned for years that China is the bigger threat to America.
There you go — that is my conspiracy theory. We only need to make changes to ensure the Chinese do not bring it to realization.
