Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu delivered a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and said a conflict between the US and China would be an “unbearable disaster,” a warning that comes amid soaring tensions between the two powers.
“It is undeniable that a severe conflict or confrontation between China and the US will be an unbearable disaster for the world,” said Li, who was appointed defense minister in March.
Li delivered the warning while calling for more dialogue between the US and China, saying the two nations should seek “common ground and common interests to grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation.”
China declined to hold a meeting between its defense minister and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the conference because the US has refused to lift sanctions that were imposed on Li in 2018 due to his role in purchasing Russian military equipment.
While the US refused to lift the sanctions and has taken a hard line against China, it still blames Beijing for the lack of dialogue. In his speech at the conference, Austin said he was “deeply concerned that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries.”
Li offered veiled criticism of the US in his speech, saying “some country” likes to enforce rules on others. “Its so-called rules-based international order never tells you what the rules are, and who made these rules,” he said. “It practices exceptionalism and double standards and only serves the interests and follows the rules of a small number of countries.”
Li also reaffirmed China’s position on Taiwan and delivered a warning to the US and the ruling party in Taipei, the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party. The US has been ignoring China’s warnings on Taiwan and continues to increase military and diplomatic support for the island.
“If anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese military will not hesitate for a second, we will fear no opponents and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity regardless of any cost,” Li said.
The Chinese defense minister has more sense than the hotheads we have on Capitol Hill. A US-China war would flat out devastate the world, and that’s the best scenario where we don’t end up covering the planet in nuclear craters. And here we are, refusing to talk because we sanctioned their defense minister and refuse to lift it. How did crossing Russia’s red lines work out in Ukraine? There has been peace over the Taiwan Strait for 70 years after the Chinese Civil War. We are just so unhappy with that peace that we HAVE to do something to ignite a war.
U.S. can’t do Jack against China. And I don’t see a war against China either. Just lots of saber rattling.
Thanks for your comforting words, but I’m not confident. Do you see any evidence of simple math skills or logic in our leadership? Are you impressed with their handling of …Ukraine or …the debt ceiling? On his Youtube channel, Emil Cosman summed it up as playing first moves in chess with no plans for opponents’ responses. Only the chess game is a narrative battle, a beauty contest if you will. While in reality, all our lives are on the line in an all out battle. But maybe they’re so much smarter than I am that it’s like the difference between a tree and its loggers. As a tree, I would hate to be pessimistic and hope you’re correct. (Sarcasm)
Very good. You can tell from Li’s words that they are accustoming themselves to the realization that they are actually going to have to go to war with Washington, … the “Thucydides trap”… Putin perhaps the Leonidas … and Beijing….?
I’d love to hear what how our President views our relationship with China is and how he forsees a resolution over Taiwan that both China and the US would like or at least not fight each over it.
But……
That would be nice … on the other hand, (1) it’s not as if the president actually makes foreign policy and (2) what they say has little to do with what they do.
Good to know that SOMEone is thinking this thing through.
(Hint: it ain’t ByeDone and the Blinkin’ Idiot.)
Even this article pitches that “A US-Chinese war being an unbearable disaster” as a threat. It’s just a fact. Any war with China would most likely result in most of our deaths. Even if nukes were avoided, it would cause a worldwide economic collapse as the makers and the bankers stop cooperating.
We need this subtext on our BS American declarations that we have to confront China (almost sure to cause unbearable disaster!) Especially when we are constantly pretending to do it for the freedom of other people (who live better now than US dominated areas in their region). Why Taiwan could be making microchips with fewer environmental and worker protections, and a much lower standard of living, but free to live their lives, as long as those lives are lived for Mammon.
Austin is full of sh*t…! US does not want a two-way dialog…! It wants to dictate China face to face…! So what that makes US…? a dictatorship not a democracy…!
“Its so-called rules-based international order never tells you what the rules are, and who made these rules,” (excerpt)
Herein lies the rub with American hegemony. One that has now faltered because of the above aforementioned excerpt. Most countries will flinch at the idea of international order being imposed by a lone superpower. One thing I’ve learned during my work experience in the South China Sea region. Is that when you ask, even someone in the lower worker ranks, to do a job or perform a task. You will always get a YES. Thinking now the job or task will be accomplished is your mistake.