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The timing of this is interesting, given that China is now considering giving weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine. It seemed that from 2020 until recently, th
by nostromo 4y ago
The timing of this is interesting, given that China is now considering giving weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.
It seemed that from 2020 until recently, the intelligence community was trying to lower tensions with China. That's shifted now with China's increasing support Russia's war in Ukraine and China's increasing pressure in Taiwan.
It's now in the US's interests to try and isolate China geopolitically. So, we're shooting down balloons and blaming them for Covid, rather than turning a blind eye.
- bmer 4y agoI don't think it's against US interests for China to sell weapons to Russia. Post-WW2, the traditional way in which powerful nation states test their conventional (non-nuclear) capabilities has been through proxy warfare. The US would probably love it if China sold some of their weapons to Russia, so that US/NATO equipment can be tested against it. Conversely, the Chinese would probably not mind testing their "on paper" capabilities "in the field". The caveat here being that the US can probably upgrade/adapt to whatever is learned about Chinese equipment. In other words, there is no substitute for actual operational experience, and both sides benefit from selling weapons to the various parties in Ukraine, in order to get said experience.
- ragazzina 4y ago>The US would probably love it if China sold some of their weapons to Russia, so that US/NATO equipment can be tested against it. I think the help from China would be in the form of helmets, gear, and 122mm rounds. Nothing really technologically advanced to test weapons against.
- dilap 4y agoHow would the US fare if China cut off exports? Seems like it would at best be extremely disruptive. So how much leverage does US really have to "isolate" China?
- neoromantique 4y agoThis cuts both ways though.