CCTV news reported that at around 17:00 on January 21, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China held a ceremony to promote the rank of general at the “August 1” building in Beijing. Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, issued an order for promotion to the rank of general. Xu Qiliang, vice chairman of the CMC, read out the promotion order signed by Xi Jinping, and Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the CMC, presided over the promotion ceremony.
The people who have been promoted to the rank of general are: Liu Qingsong, political commissar of the Northern Theater of the Communist Party of China, Wu Yanan, commander of the Central Theater, Xu Deqing, political commissar of the Central Theater, Qin Shutong, political commissar of the Army, Yuan Huazhi, political commissar of the Navy, Li Yuchao, commander of the Rocket Army, and the Armed Police Force. Political commissar Zhang Hongbing.
The wording of Xi Jinping’s 2022 Order No. 1 draws attention
On January 4 this year, Xi Jinping signed “Order No. 1 of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China in 2022”, requiring the military to “accurately grasp the changes in national security and military struggle”, “keep an eye on changes in science and technology, changes in warfare, and changes in opponents.” And “comprehensively promote the transformation and upgrading of military training”, and finally emphasized the need to train well to ensure the convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Outside observers have noticed that Xi Jinping’s 2022 Military Commission Order No. 1 focuses on the “20 major victories”, rather than external operations. The No. 1 order issued by Xi in 2020 and 2021 “focuses on preparing for war”.
Analysts believe that Xi asked the military to keep an eye on the “change of opponents”, and more likely to ask the military to keep an eye on Xi’s “change of political enemies within the party” to “escort” Xi’s third re-election at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The ranks of the CCP’s military play a key role in the CCP’s struggle for power. For example, in 1992, Deng Xiaoping made a statement while visiting the South. In Zhuhai, Deng Xiaoping called a military meeting attended by two vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission, but Deng did not talk about the military, but emphasized that “whoever does not reform will step down.”
The late famous American expert on China, Vogel, said in his book, “The strong lineup of military leaders who attended the meeting showed that if necessary, the military high-level is willing to support a new leader.”
According to the British BBC, Jiang Zemin, the former leader of the Communist Party of China who was brought to power by Deng Xiaoping, felt the pressure from his speech on the southern tour.
Xi Jinping intends to reshape the world order
Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping is considered a political figure with global ambitions.
On January 17, Xi Jinping said in a speech at a video conference of the World Economic Forum that in the fight against the CCP virus (new crown virus) epidemic, “(the world) countries are not on more than 190 small boats, but on a shared destiny. big ship.”
Xi Jinping promised that China would again provide CCP virus vaccines to African countries and ASEAN countries free of charge.
For Elizabeth Economy, a senior researcher at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and an expert on China, Xi Jinping’s remarks are not just a story of an “emerging power” shouldering responsibility for humanitarian crises, but “a harbinger of China’s (CCP’s) ambitions and growing global influence are a warning of potential challenges to the existing international system and the institutions, values and norms that have underpinned it for 75 years.”
“Voice of America” reported on January 21 that Yi Ming believes that reshaping the world pattern is the ambition of Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Communist Party of China. Xi Jinping’s vision is not just to reform the global system, but to reshape the existing liberal international order.
Yi Ming said that the order Xi Jinping wants is for China to return to the center of the world stage, realize its sovereignty claims over Taiwan and the South China Sea, replace the United States as the dominant power in the Asia-Pacific region, and ensure the political, economic and security interests of other countries. Consistent with China’s, China’s economy is protected from external challenges while maintaining its status as a great power in a globalized economy, incorporating Chinese values, norms and standards into international law and international institutions.
Yi Ming pointed out that the CCP’s state-centered model and coercive diplomacy are increasingly making many of the CCP’s initiatives lose credibility and appeal, and are causing international backlash. Beijing’s “wolf warrior diplomacy” and aggressive military operations have strengthened ties between the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies and pushed Europe to become more involved in Asian affairs.
Yi Ming recently published an article in “Foreign Affairs” arguing that whether Xi Jinping can realize his ambition depends on many factors, including on the one hand, the situation of China’s economic and military power, as well as the support of other top leaders and the Chinese people; One aspect is whether the world can withstand Chinese coercion and whether democracies can provide a convincing vision of the future world.
The number of CCP military planes harassing Taiwan will reach 961 in 2021, a 2.5-fold increase from 380 in 2020, posing a huge threat to Taiwan. The outside world believes that the Communist army is stepping up preparations to attack Taiwan.
But Ge Laiyi, a longtime Taiwan expert, said Xi Jinping’s military words and deeds are often overinterpreted, especially when it comes to a military attack on Taiwan.
Ge Laiyi believes that the CCP must have a way to escalate its military pressure on Taiwan. “China will make a decision that it is not enough to increase the flight in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. China may need to let planes fly over Taiwan, or launch missiles to fly over Taiwan. Or fly within 12 nautical miles of Taiwan’s airspace.”
Yao Cheng, a former lieutenant colonel of the Chinese Air Force, said that the Chinese military has a negative attitude towards attacking Taiwan, because “there is no chance of winning” and it will pay a huge price.
Yao Cheng said that the “Twenty National Congress” held at the end of the year will be a key influence. If Xi Jinping cannot be re-elected, he may launch a military attack on Taiwan, implement military control and comprehensively supervise opposition forces; if Xi Jinping is re-elected, the military leaders will automatically move closer, the Communist army will have three or five years of military preparation, and the date of the use of force against Taiwan will be procrastination.