Expert Says China Preparing For War With US And Asia
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: April 6, 2022 08:20PM UTC
Last Modified: April 6, 2022 08:20PM UTC
INDO-PACIFIC - Global consultant on United States and Chinese relations Jonathan D.T. Ward told Fox Business on Tuesday that he believes China is preparing for a war with the United States, as well as its neighboring Asian countries. NATO also says that due to China's refusal to condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine, the alliance will be expanding cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Ward said that China is "playing both sides" and is "trying to keep up an appearance of being a good actor" for its trade partners in Europe, while being a "fervent supporter of Moscow".
He said that he believes China's long term strategy is to increasingly partner with Russia, and believes that this is preparation for a potential war with other Asian countries or the United States.
"China is preparing for war with the United States and Asia, and if and when that happens, they want Russia as their partner on that date" he stated.
"You know, this is a joint idea of taking down the U.S.-led order. I mean, they’ve been absolutely clear about that in their communications and, you know, being able to work together, building their military relationship and having that underlying economic relationship in which China absolutely has the upper hand and therefore a great deal of leverage over Russia, but they have a shared joint ideological enterprise".
Ward also said that "Beijing is recycling Moscow’s propaganda, and they’re on the same page about their idea of contesting the United States in both Europe and Asia. So that’s really the deeper heart of this matter. Beijing is not going to throw that away because they sort of need Russia in order to fulfill their broader geopolitical goals".
He also addressed that a potential problem for China is a growing distrust with their European trade partners. "They’ve obviously put themselves in the trap of having, at this point, raised a lot of skepticism in Europe. And I think people are calling into question their economic relations. That’s where we need to take action".
China has also spoken with Russia about giving them economic aid. "You know, not only the genocide, the military buildup but the support for Moscow in the first major land war in Europe in, you know, 75 years; I mean, this should be enough for us to understand that it’s time to roll back the economic relationship, and you can start by looking at the Chinese companies that are going to be tacitly engaging with Russia as the regime comes under further pressure. That’s going to be a space, I think, for sanctions. I think we should be bold about that".
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has also put out a statement saying that due to China's refusal to condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will be expanding cooperation with partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
Stoltenberg said, "We see that China has been unwilling to condemn Russia's aggression, and has joined Moscow in questioning the right of nations to choose their own path. At the time when authoritarian powers are pushing back on the rule space to end national order, it is even more important for democracies to stand together and protect our values".
"So I expect we will agree to deepen NATO's cooperation with our Asia Pacific partners, including in areas such as arms control, cyber and hybrid technology" he added.
